Home of the Wanderer

Notes from the margins

Gavin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:19:49 +0000

I have an inch-thick folder of notes about relationships – how to conduct myself in them, how to approach and enter them so that they turn out more fun for all involved, and so on – generated from my own experiences (and often realized through a conversation with a mentor). I’ve accumulated them for over a decade; though the oldest thing in this folder is from 2005, I’ve got other folders, books, and journals with my notes on the subject from as long ago as 1997.

Anyway, I decided I’d try sharing some of my accumulated notions. I’d love to hear from others what they think of these, or how they’ve played out in your lives. I think it’s going to just be a selection of quick summary notes, for now, often as tips, aphorisms, or what-have-you.

This week’s tip: if you ask for what you want, and play as if you can get it, you’re likely to get it if you can. If you miss either of these, you’re almost guaranteed not to.

Stretching Scientifically

Gavin — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 00:38:58 +0000

My favorite stretching regime is taken from “Stretching Scientifically,” by Thomas Kurz, which documents the results of research on strength and flexibility training from the Olympic programs of the USSR. It involves a warm-up, followed by dynamic full-range-of-motion stretches before a workout (movement through the full range of motion, but not ballistic). After a workout, he recommends static active stretching (pushing with the muscle to be stretched against a solid restraint – like your hand – such that the muscle is at full extension, not moving, but trying to move, for up to thirty seconds).

Dynamic range-of-motion stretches don’t distort muscle fibers, so they allow you to retain good coordination during your workout. For developing strength and flexibility, they are second only to static active stretching, which does distort the muscle fibers (and thus should only be used after the workout, as it reduces coordination and increases risk of injury in any activities immediately following).

Clarity

Gavin — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 20:00:17 +0000

I was once in a state of perplexity
at how to resolve life’s complexity.
My stress was relieved
when I let go and breathed,
because I remembered that I don’t need to work it all out myself.

Or:

Life, an exercise:
releasing expectations;
receiving what is.

Celsi Dinner

Gavin — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 04:27:58 +0000

Again forgot to take pics. But I’m enjoying visiting with friends and listening to speeches.

HBBA Annual Meeting

Gavin — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:24:13 +0000

Hawthorne Boulevard Business Association annual meeting. Yeah, I haven’t posted for a few days. More on that soon. Anyway, lots of folks here, and good food. Forgot to take pics.

Tempeh Reubens

Gavin — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 21:38:51 +0000

Tempeh reubens and blue heron pale ale with Alexis. Yum!

Yet another breakfast of oatmeal

Gavin — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 18:59:06 +0000

Oatmeal breakfast with Alexis.

Yesterday’s meals…

Gavin — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 18:35:22 +0000

Breakfast, solo, was duck oatmeal, this time prepared with the glaze reduced from an already highly concentrated duck broth.

I simply postponed, and then skipped, lunch - first thinking I would eat soon (and that I was getting a lot done), then that I was eating soon anyway (an that I ought to wait). I ran a bunch of errands, including a trip to New Seasons, where I had a bite of a bagel from the “solutions” counter (which might, as it turns out, have contained eggs). Once home, I threw together a batch of my latest favorite flavor of Happiness(tm) Chocolate (which I think I’ll call “Brut”), and set to cleaning the place. My house was much more ready for company by the time I ran out the door.

Dinner, with my friend Maren, was an “Incan Bowl” at Blossoming Lotus: quinoa, beans, steamed kale, and sweet ginger sauce with tempeh and avocado. We bumped into Andy and Donna, too.

Dessert with Maren and Alexis was a ramekin each of vanilla coconut bliss and Brut Happiness(tm) chocolate.

lunch and dinner

Gavin — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 05:24:31 +0000

Lunch: “hawaiian burger” at Imbibe. organic free-range angus beef, canadian bacon, grilled pineapple, swiss cheese, lettuce, toms, onions, fries.

Dinner: “Mondo fish burrito” from Taco del Mar, with guacamole, dirty rice, refried beans, fish, light cheese, cabbage, pico, and mild salsa on a spinach tortilla.

And a full day.

Lamb thali for dinner

Gavin — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 06:09:56 +0000

Dinner with Hester between errands and Blues dancing. Indian food ftw.