Another pop media coffee sighting for you…
Just watched Despicable Me with my family the other night. A great movie! My big takeaway- “It’s so FLUFFY!”
In case you missed it, there was a great coffee scene near the beginning. So you know, if you possess sufficient technology to make a functional freeze ray, it is completely acceptible to use it to jump the line.
Let me set up some background on this one. For those of you that don’t know me personally, I’m a professional speaker. In other words, a portion of my living that provides food for my table, toys for my kids, and golf balls to hit people’s houses with comes from speaking fees. I incur this in several ways. The majority of it comes from lectures delivered at conferences. Other parts come from teaching workshops and university classes.
To help my mom with her fear of public speaking I talked her into joining a Toastmasters group with me. It’s great fun. I enjoy seeing my mom break out of her shell speaking in front of people, and it’s great practice for me. I often practice new speeches in front of my local group before I debut them in front of a large audience.
Our group has a state competition every year and they ask for presenters to assist at the conference. Here’s the specs straight from the Call for Presentations…
Speaker Fees: We look for contributors who are willing to share their expertise without expectation of payment in the spirit of networking and contributing to the Toastmasters community throughout the district.
Travel expenses: Travel to and from the conference location, including hotel lodging, meals, etc. will be your responsibility.
Conference Registration: Conference registration fees will not be waived for presenters. All presenters must register to attend the conference.
I’ll sum it up for you. “Don’t expect payment. Get here on your own. Pay us for the privilege of being here.”
Wow! I’m not sure if this makes as much an impression on you as me, but it bothers me a bit. Bear in mind that this is an organization whose purpose is to further the act of public speaking around the world. They do a great job at that, so it seems odd that they would then turn around and make the point that one should not attempt to make a living from it.
I don’t know. Maybe it’s just me. It just irks me a bit when people are over-asked to give away their talents and skills.
Standard behavior at other conferences I’ve spoken at usually includes the following- pay for speaking, travel expenses covered, and free registration at all conference functions. It’s just professional courtesy, and I would expect more from a professional organization.
Disclaimer- In case you’re wondering, I’m not just writing this because they wouldn’t let me speak. I promise.
I’ve had a crush on Kristin Bell ever since she shot lightning bolts from her fingertips in Heroes. Then my wife and I hopped on Netflix and watched all of the Veronica Mars series. The crush was enough that I was willing to watch her in When in Rome, a chick movie of chick movies. At least it didn’t have Matthew McCona-gay in it baring his chest yet again.
So here’s a coffee shot from the movie…
I just sat in on a class at Horry-Georgetown Technical College (HGTC) in Myrtle Beach SC as part of their new Lead & Inspire program being headed up by my good friend Cindy Ott. I’ll be teaching part of the program soon myself. I’m doing this for two reasons. Number one, it’ll expand the reach of my services by partnering with a great school. Number two, I’m a HGTC alumnus. My first two Associate degrees are from there, and it’s a pleasure to be walking the halls as part of the faculty.
Today’s class was Managing the Process taught by Kimberly Raymond. A great class but I’d like to focus on the goal-setting portion. Ms Raymond used the SMART acronym to expand on the process of goals. If you’re not familiar, or if you are and you’ve been too lazy to use it, it’s a great method for setting awesome goals. Chris Guillebeau hit on goals in his recent blog post as well.
S- Specific
M- Measurable
A- Achievable
R- Results-Based
T- Time-Oriented
Ms Raymond used her own weight loss goals as the example, so I did the same and mapped out my personal weight loss goals during the class. I’ve set general goals and made great progress, but I had yet to make it SMART.
So here we go…
At the beginning of the year I weighed 243 lbs. My goal for the end of the year is to weigh in as a light heavyweight at 206 lbs or less. That means a loss of 37 lbs for the year, 3.08 lbs per month, or 0.71 lbs per week. Now this is a SMART goal.
As of my weigh-in on Monday I’ve lost 5 lbs in 7 weeks, which is 0.71 lbs per week, give or take 15 or more decimal places. I’m right on schedule so far. This is even better than you think because I started my new lifestyle change halfway into January. I’ve only been actively on the plan for 4 weeks. I’m still going to stick with 1/1/11 as my start date though.
That’s it. I’m doing great on my plan, have set a great set of goals, and I’m well on my way to success.
Mucho thanks to Cindy and Kimberly for letting me sit in on the class. I’m looking forward to teaching with you soon.
Here’s a rare vidblog from me detailing my homemade kettlebell courtesy of Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Body (my new all-encompassing fitness resource).
Enjoy…
Note…also published in print in Transitions magazine for February 2010.
It’s time for my annual list of books read for the year. The following list is all the books I read in 2010. I shattered my previous record and hope to extend it again this year. As busy as my life I strive to keep a well-balanced Life Wheel and make time to read. Not only do I find it enjoyable, but it is a proven fact that reading improves vocabulary, speaking ability, and intelligence. It also opens up your life to rest of the world, whether real or imagined.
So here goes…
Whew! Now I’m tired. I think I’ll grab a book and sit down for a spell.
Last month I reprinted my most famous article of all, the classic “51 Ways to Force Your Man Into Another Woman’s Bed.” It’s the one article of the year that makes all the fans and haters start typing like mad on the e-mail. This year I had three responses that really made an impression. Because these women were brave enough to write I asked them if they would mind contributing to a companion article exposing the flip side, the things men do that their women hate. Many of the suggestions in this list are theirs, so male readers- please don’t vote me out of the Manly Man Club because of this article. Out of respect to the wishes of my erstwhile female contributors I’ve withheld their names. They did seem pleased though that this article would appear in time for Valentine’s Day. Men, take heed. Eliminating a few of the items on this list might make the ideal gift for V-Day along with flowers and chocolate.
So here we go with a list that is probably nowhere near exhaustive of things that make a woman consider either homicide or a very disfiguring amputation…
Ladies, I hope this turnabout from the previous article helps smooth things over for us. From some of the e-mails we received, it is my wish that you’re no longer mad at me, just irate. If you do choose to share this with your husbands, please mark out my name. I really don’t want the men of the world to think that I’ve betrayed them and gone over to the dark side of embracing any femininity in my life.
I love Jamaican food. My sis brought me back a jar of jerk seasoning from the island year’s ago from her honeymoon trip. I’ve been addicted ever since. My wife uses it on everything from chicken to beef to eggs. I love it. I usually don’t like hot food, mainly because most restaurants and assorted amateur cooks use it for heat and nothing else. I felt that way about the Chik Fil A spicy chicken- all heat with no flavor.
Based on Becky Billingsley’s review on a new Jamaican spot called Bingy’s in Myrtle Beach SC I thought I’d try it out today. I was in the small burg known as Socastee (too small for a Mayor but big enough for a post office) and dropped in for lunch. I like it! The place is small and cozy with just a couple of small tables that give one the idea that it’s mainly a carry out spot rather than a sit in and dine venue. That’s alright though. Some of the best food I’ve ever eaten in Jamaica was from food carts, so dining off of disposable dishes made it feel more authentic. Bingy’s seems like a non-nonsense good food kind of establishment anyway. They don’t claim to be a white china establishment and and don’t need to.
I ordered the jerk chicken patty sandwich with steamed vegetables. What I really wanted was the rice and peas, but my new diet is lower on carbs than what I really enjoy. In lieu of the new diet I also got an unsweet tea. I did splurge on one item though, a bottle of spicy ginger beer. It’s non-alcoholic like root beer and is indeed very spicy. I’m slightly addicted to ginger though, so it was perfect. The chicken was awesome. Not too spicy but enough to make me sweat. If I don’t sweat while eating Jamaican food, it’s not made right. They even included extra jerk sauce for dipping.
My only quandry with Bingy’s was that there was no Blue Mountain Coffee on the menu. There are few places in the area that serve it, and the crew might spike the business a little by capitalizing on that. I’m biased though, because I’m a coffee freak!
I’d highly recommend Bingy’s as a lunch stop. Now I’m itching to try it out for dinner. The menu features other authentic meats like goat and oxtail for dinner entrees. Even if you’re not hungry, they have a sweet selection of Jamaican sodas and drinks. If you’re driving by, stop there instead of the convenience store for a beverage and try something new.
Bingy’s @ 4989 Socastee Blvd (Hwy 707), Myrtle Beach SC 29588
843-293-2481
Open 11:00 a.m. until whenever
I guess it’s time. At the insistence of my friend, former Marine comrade, and oftentime accountability partner Mark Priganc it’s time that I do a check up for everyone on my progress. (That’s Mark in the photo below. He and I were on an ocean rescue mission at the time.) It doesn’t do much good to put this out there for public accountability if I don’t release the results, right?
So, here we go for the three week score…
Baseline Measurements- Weight 243; Fat 37%; Upper Arm Bicep left 14.75 & right 14.5 (no Hulk Hogan pythons here yet); Waist 44.25; Hips 45.25; Thigh left 26.25 & right 26.125; Neck 18
Week 1- Weight 241; Fat 36%; Upper Arm Bicep left 14.5 & right 14.625; Waist 45.5; Hips 44.5; Thigh left 26.625 & right 26.875; Neck 18.25
Week 2- Weight 238; Fat 36%; Upper Arm Bicep left 14.875 & right 14.625; Waist 44.25; Hips 44.75; Thigh left 25.875 & right 25.875; Neck 18
Week 3- Weight 240; Fat 36%; Upper Arm Bicep left 14.625 & right 14.5; Waist 43.125; Hips 44.375; Thigh left 26.75 & right 26.5; Neck 17.875
Significant changes (so you don’t have to add/subtract all these numbers)-
1. 3 lbs of total loss
2. Lost one percentage of body fat
3. Lost 1.125 inches on my waist
4. Lost almost an inch on my hips
So there it is. I wouldn’t say I’m overjoyed with the results. Everyone wants to do something like this as fast as possible. I’m okay with the results though, and the lack of huge progress isn’t going to deter me. As a matter of fact, I’ve already ideintified several factors that I can change or modify to make it work better in the next 3 weeks.
One big aspect in my new lifestyle journey is knowledge. I’ll be honest, I avoided and ignored testing before because I didn’t really want to know. It’s much easier to remain in denial about something if you’re not confronted with it. Some fat people avoid mirrors. I didn’t do that. I was more afraid of the inside, what was going on in my blood. I’ve had high cholesterol for years. I blamed it on genetics. I’m sure it was partly that, but it was mostly just bad eating and poor health. I couldn’t ignore the cholesterol tests though, the dad-blamed doctors kept taking more and more blood for the tests to see if the meds were working.
As soon as I begun reading 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss I noticed how he placed particular attention and importance on testing. How else can you know how you’re doing and the level of your progress? Before I started this change in lifestyle I took basic measurements such as weight, body fat percentage and measures of key areas of my body. Yesterday I took the first of the major blood tests that I’ll use for future comparisons.
My local hospital Grand Strand Regional Medical Center does a health fair day at the mall each year. The main event of the fair is blood profile/panel report. For $25 you can donate some life juice and be tested for around 30 blood markers that range from the norm of glucose and cholesterol to obscure liver and thyroid hormones. It’s a crazy amount of tests worth nearly a $1000 dollars if you did them seperately at a doctor’s office. You’re basically just paying for the test tube and needle. All you have to do is stand in line and fast for 12 hours prior. No problem.
I showed up at about 0845 for an event that started at 0900. The line was already about a quarter of a mile long snaking through the mall. I waited from then until 1007. Not too much over an hour wasn’t bad for the cost savings. One of the nurses told me that they’ll see around 1500 people in 5 hours. The only real downside to the whole process is that it takes a few weeks to get the results. When the results come in I’ll let you know how they compared to past screenings.
The point of this whole rant is that I think you should get tested. Even if you haven’t had a harajuku moment yet, it’s still a great idea to get a baseline and also to see if there’s anything weird going on in the blood. At the least, $25 for this test is a good reason to spend a weekend in Myrtle Beach and practice a little domestic medical tourism.
