32 hours to 37

So I am one day away from turning 37 years old. This birthday has really snuck up on me, like it was Christmas or a weekend festival. This is one of those ages were it's not going to feel a whole lot different. It probably won't feel different until 2021 when I hit a certain number. More specifically, I reach a certain decade. Right now the biggest change is I need to enter a higher number on the age setting when I use the treadmill.

Speaking of which, I signed up to do my first 10K and that is going to happen right before Halloween. I have an eight week training program ready and it's going to start right after I return from Europe. I'm not sure what my goal is yet, but I definitely want to finish in under an hour. I'm thinking maybe less than 55 minutes would be really good. The other factor is will I wear a costume of some kind. My focus is really to run. But I will do some searching and if I can find something cool that won't inhibit my ability to run, then that would be great.

One year down

So it's now been more than one year since I moved from St. Charles to Newport News. Those two towns are 900 miles apart and they seem like two completely different worlds. So with that in mind, I decided to take a brief moment and point out some of the most memorable moments and happenings that have occurred over the last twelve months.

1. Underwater hockey.
I really tried to make this work, being that I I was new to the area and loved playing hockey. But one night of this was enough. I swallowed maybe half a gallon of pool water that night. I don't think I've ever had so much trouble breathing. But i'm glad I tried it once.

2. Aroma's chai tea.
What a cool coffee shop I have less than five walking minutes away. Excellent drinks, homey atmosphere. It blows Starbucks out of the water.

3. Run club.
This became a tradition for me on Monday nights. 3 miles and back from Whole Foods to City Center Blvd and back. I met some pretty good people there, most notably Ira, Dave, and Deb. I slacked off by the fall though, but I probably ran close to a dozen times.

4. Stop sign.
That asshole cop. Never been to that peculiar intersection before, but I just didn't see the stop sign. Cop didn't care and I went to court twice over it, ultimately paying a $100 fine.

5. Community group.
This was the main reason that I decided to go to Grace Bible Church. The group met at the right time of day on the right day of the week and it had people around my age group. I just hope they are friends who I will still have in my life after the group comes to an end one day.

6. Men's breakfasts.
This was one of the other reasons why I went to Grace Bible. Once a month, I would meet with other men in Virginia Beach at a restaurant and we would have breakfast together and here and inspirational message. Very few other churches have regular meetings like this for men, and if they do come of the usually around 5:30 in the morning.

7. Virginia Jets Fans.
Well what can I say. I never expected to find us superior jets group in Virginia as opposed to Chicago, but that's what happened. Between Stirling, Ken, LeShay, Barb, Ray, Dennis, Sam, Chip, Joe, Patrick, Suzanne, and others, we really are a family.

8. Hollydazzle.
The city center shopping area where I live is very strange. A lot of times it feels like a ghost town. But when there is a festival going on, there is hardly room to walk. And their Christmas festival is the epitome. I am literally could not walk for 3 hours because there was no room to move. But at least I got to see the tree light up.

9. Basketball.
At least I got to get back into athletics for a little while. Even though Stratford was doomed to fail, I got to travel with a basketball team and I really enjoyed tracking the statistics. I just wish I could make a living at what I enjoy doing.

10. Bored Nevermore.
Meetup became a pretty big deal for my social life. I met a lot of very cool people and also a few people who I didn't really care to hang around but they were definitely the minority. Alisa is a great organizer. Ann adds a lot of spunk despite not living the most moral lifestyle. John will speak his mind, he's a little older and really doesn't seem to give a damn anymore. Susannah...I just wish she'd give me a chance.

11. Indoor gardening.
Mom got me an Easter present of an indoor garden that plugs in. I really enjoyed growing my own herbs for the first time.

12. Yelp.
The Yelp community does not meet as often in the Hampton roads area as it doesn't Chicago man. But I've gotten to do some very enjoyable events such as New Orleans seafood, Outback on two occasions, and several fitness classes.

13. Shamrock 8k. Less than 38 minutes on St. Patrick's Day. Cold in the morning. Loads of Yeungling beers afterwards.

14. World Mission Alliance Church.
My worst church experience ever. I'm thankful that I have a firm faith.

15. Quitting my job.
I've said so much about this in my recent post. Maybe God used that job which wasn't meant to work out in order to get me here for another reason. I'm not totally sure what the reason is aside from my independence. But I'm excited to find out.

Work transition

I started working my new school job on July 9 and started a restaurant waitering job about two days later. Fast forward one week, and between Monday and Saturday, I worked over 75 hours. So in a span of two weeks, I went from working zero hours to working 75.

I expected too much of myself too quickly. Being that I had three years of waitering experience, 11 years working in education, which is really just a form of customer service, and that I'm a foodie, I thought I would come in and immediately be great. So even during my four day training process, it was tough to hear criticism and correction. It's not that I didn't want correction, I appreciate constructive criticism. But between Friday and Saturday, I took some strides forward in terms of my approach and willing ness to ask for help. I made between 28 and $38 my first three nights. I would have hoped for a little better than $38 on a Friday though. But I made just shy of $100 on Saturday, which is a really good number, despite it being an eight hour shift. And keep in mind that I only get to keep 40% of my tips, because I have to tip the bartender, the busser, and the many meat servers. So my total in tips was around $235. But that's just a side dish, if I may use a food analogy. If it doesn't work out, it'll leave me with a little less money, but certainly more time.

What matters is the new school job. How am I feeling at the moment? Well after ten days, I cautiously think there is a future for me. Mostly, I'll be working with military students. One of the reasons I have confidence it will work is the management is hands on but supportive. Our campus president is very interested and has a lot of energy. The two financial aid managers are very straight forward and are going to make sure I get this down. The bad part is I have no paid time off until at least mid-February. But it's a price I have to pay.

Wal-Mart experience

I don't think I stepped into a Wal-Mart until my later teenage years, and most likely, it was out of necessity when I went on one of my many trips. May have been a missions trip or a vacation, I don't know. But I can safely say I've never quite had an experience like I did this past Saturday.

It started out innocently enough, not giving any money to a cause nodding at the greeter, and getting the items I had come for like cream cheese, yogurt, lemonade, and beans. Then, it was time to head over the hardware and sporting good sections; I was looking for zip ties and a headband. I'm walking down the aisle just minding my own business when all of a sudden, a guy walking with his kid stops me and smiles, shakes my hand, and immediately, I'm thinking...what is going on here? I have to remember that I'm in the south. He wound up inviting me to his church and to an event that evening called Saturday Night Extreme, which was sort of what Saturday Night Live would be if it was done in church. I explained I was busy but I do appreciate churches that get creative in their presentations. I found out later that this church does street preaching every Saturday at 10 am.

So I took his card and went over to the next aisle. There were about five guys in that aisle, and the guy who I would be chatting with soon joined them. So right away, I knew they were all together from this particular church. They were casually passing a toy football around. One of the guys took a 3 step drop towards me, he was maybe three feet away from me, and he gave me a quick look and said two dreaded words.

"I'm Brady."

That was all I needed to hear. I slapped the football down from his hand, looked right at him, and casually but firmly said, "F Brady." The other guys left, leaving just me and him. Now he was a decent sized guy, he is actually in the Navy, so he'd probably whip my ass. I explained I was a die hard Jets fan, and he admitted to me that he was a fair weather fan between the Jaguars, Cowboys, and Patriots. He also explained that he starting rooting for New England because of a girl he was dating at the time. My immediate response was to question the girl's intelligence and decision making.

We wound up talking for about 20 minutes and exchanged numbers at the end. I'm not sure that we'll communicate, but it went pretty well. I'm not sure how to feel about the church, just because I'm so uncomfortable with outreach. Maybe I'll visit one time, but I'm not sure as of yet.

The fun was just beginning. I get my zip ties, but not the headband, and I get on line. I'm behind 3 carts and they moved so slowly, so I called my father and told him what had just happened. Our conversation lasted ten minutes and I was still waiting. The person right before me was some 50 year old weathered looking Southern woman with a sharp mountain accent. She was trying to use a business check and it wouldn't process. The manager came over and still couldn't get it to work. I groaned, and the woman said "Sir, be patient, sometimes things don't always work." I ignored her, feeling it wasn't worth it to engage. The cashier and manager asked if she had another method of payment and she angrily responded that she used the business check every week and she was never going to shop at Wal-Mart again. She pushed her cart away in disgust.

And I don't know why I said this, but I just casually said, "And you wanted me to be patient." Her response was to yell at me, "Shut the hell up asshole." I just really pitied her. I couldn't not say anything, but I was not going to let myself get angry. I just said, "God bless you too!" She walked away and the cashier rang up my order. We just couldn't get over how rude she was. I admit to having a temper, but in that setting, to insult someone personally like that? Pretty sad.

Walking out of the store, everything came together. First, I had to make sure this crazy woman wasn't waiting to beat me down or anything. Thankfully, I didn't see her. But I'm walking back to the car and a guy is passing me slowly in his car, looking for a spot. He had a NY Jets license plate frame. I had him pull down his window and told him about the Virginia Jets Fans club. So who knows, maybe I helped the club to grow!

Sunday reflections

1) I had three Yelp Fit Club workouts in three days during the course of last week. Tuesday was yoga, followed by Explosive Performance at a new One Life gym on Wednesday, and it culminated with Muay Thai on Thursday. The yoga really didn't do anything for me, it was a little too meditative. Sure I felt a little more relaxed afterwards, but I didn't feel al that enlightened, and certainly not challenged. The EP focused a lot on conditioning and functional strength. There was a lot of power moves, squats, lunges, and even a sled race relay at the end. It was a load of fun and I would definitely want to do this again. Muay Thai was a radically new experience for me. I've done some kickboxing classes in the past and I took karate for a few months when I was a little kid. Truth be told, I never gravitated to them. But I really liked how this style requires balance, concentration, technique, and energy. Not only that, but it's one hell of a stress reliever. And unlike in kickboxing, I didn't have to spend the entire time pounding those heavy bags. My partner, Rachel, did a great job with her strikes. I could tell she had a little experience as soon as I saw that she had brought her own gloves along. We really clicked in terms of coaching each other, positioning the pads, and timing our strikes. I would definitely do this more often, but when it's an hour away without traffic and the prices are rather prohibitive, I just can't justify it.

2) My Sunday night is being spent watching Ken Burns' documentary from 18 years ago about jazz music. Looks like I'll get through the first two episodes of the ten part series. I'm not an expert on jazz at all, but after watching his baseball series so many years ago, I figured it would be a good way for me to learn about a genre of music that is distinctly American. And maybe I'll discover some artists that I didn't know about.

3) Bub n Pops in DC. I cannot visit the city without stopping in there. They may just be the best sandwich joint I've ever been to, along with Defonte's in Brooklyn and Graziano's in Chicago. They just can't make a bad sandwich. The roast pork, the brisket, the Italian, the Jewish hero. Just unbelievable quality.

4) I think it's time for me to purchase a TV set for the first time. Most likely, I'll be buying it at Costco. On the surface, there doesn't seem to be much to do except check the price tag and the inches. But upon further research, I'm learning about HDR, pixels, HDMI ports, etc. I see some sets that have Wi-Fi capabilities and I can hardly imagine how that would work. I'm currently watching a 32 incher and the one I have that is all but dead is a 37 inch. I've been seeing articles that insist on a 55 inch or a 65 inch, but I believe I'd be satisfied with a set over 40 inches.

5) I'm disgusted with my apartment complex, specifically the business practices of the agents. Not only did they raise my rent by $125 per month (would have been $225 if I did a 6 month lease instead of a 12 month lease), but they won't even negotiate. This in spite of me quitting my job and now having a new one which pays a little bit less than what I was making. So why don't I just move? There's really two reasons why I'm leaning towards staying. One, my new job is five minutes from this apartment. Two, I don't want to go through the aggravation of moving. But I gave them notice two weeks ago that I was leaving since they insisted on it. Now that my work situation has shifted, I'm hoping I can stay. Yet, I'm still waiting to hear back from the leasing office. So annoying.