New Year Journal

I'm starting out the new year with good intentions:
 1) to exercise,
 2) to eat healthier foods, and
 3) to be nicer to people who annoy me.


This year I am feeling more open to a new experiences. I signed-up for a Tai Chi class starting next week at the Council on Aging. I'm  hoping that the ancient exercises will promote flexibility in the muscles and increase my sense of  inner peace.

I sure hope this works-out better than the Yoga class I took last year.  It was billed as "Beginner Yoga for Seniors."   I was the only male in the class.  I think I was younger than most of the ladies, but you never know with women over 50.  None of us was "in shape."  Clearly, we had all signed up expecting some magic to turn us back into the sleek slender sturdiness of our youth.

My own goal in taking last year's Yoga class was to achieve enough flexibility to be able to get-in and -out of the kayak that I bought on Craig's List the previous summer.  To imagine the difficulty, sit on the floor and try to rise to your feet without using your hands.  It is hard to do on land and virtually impossible to do in the water, when you are 70 lbs overweight.  So I thought the Yoga would be a positive step towards stretching my stiffened joints and atrophied muscles back into some semblance of  what the French would call souplesse.    

After loyally attending 8 sessions, I concluded that Yoga isn't the right exercise for fat guys.
The exercises - even as modified for seniors - were more painful than invigorating.  My chronic tendinitis of the left wrist returned and barked with agony whenever I put weight on it.  Most of my joints just felt sore for several days after a session.  By the eight week, I felt no better than I did when I started, so I skipped the last 2 sessions, and instead went to the pub for a couple of relaxing frosty pints.  Looking back with honesty, I should admit that I never did the exercises between classes.  It always seemed like too much trouble to get down on the floor because getting back up was painful.  I am sure that daily practice would have been beneficial, and I have not discounted trying it again at some future time -- after I have lost 40 or 50 pounds.
(For the record I did get out in the kayak a few times this past summer. The outings were enjoyable, but I am still resolved to develop the ability to enter and exit the craft without getting drenched.)
  Despite the earnest hope for a magical transformation that will restore the vitality and strength of my youth, my practical expectations for the Tai Chi class are modest.

As for my resolution to eat healthier foods, I have already begun to cut back or eliminate certain unhelpful foods from my diet.  I have not eaten a french fry (or as the French would say pomme frite ) in three months. Bread, rice, pizza and pasta are rarely served at the evening meal.  We have eliminated nearly all packaged processed foods.  Portion sizes of meat have been halved, and servings of vegetables have been doubled.   This is about all I have to say about the diet right now; I generally find the dietary musings of fat people to be boring and frankly, annoying.  I'm sure you feel the same way.  (Perhaps the details of my diet will be more interesting after I have lost 50 pounds.)

The last of my resolutions is to be nicer to people who annoy me.  This will be a hard one to keep, since I find myself constantly annoyed by companies and organizations and the people who work for them.  I am annoyed at the newspaper delivery guy for multiple crimes: Being late, letting my paper get wet, delivering when I'm on vacation hold, etc.  The publishers of the Globe annoy me by printing on cheap curly paper, being unable to conceal a progressive bias, and constantly increasing the price of each edition, despite the lack of original news content.  Airlines, phone companies, theaters, restaurants, HMO's - you get the idea:  I find daily annoyances in my dealings with these institutions and the minions who face the public (ie, me).

Yet I have lately come to the realization that the annoyance is within me, and not in the intent of the annoying party.    I now see that is the unrealistic expectation of perfection that causes annoyance.  Annoying people are not trying to be annoying - they can't help it.  They toss their papers on your wet lawn, nobly  thinking, "I'm delivering the news."   Dog walkers didn't pick-up that poop because they didn't realize that stepping in dogshit bothered you. The girl behind the counter at Dunkin Donuts didn't overfill your cup intentionally, she just doesn't understand English, so the words "Not too full." sound like "Fill that sucker to the brim!"

This year, none of this stuff will bother me.  See, the inner peace thing is already working!