Relaxation Time

Hi Dear Readers!

You know the usual opening greeting by now, so say it to yourself and let's get into it.

I had a fairly fruitful (literally) and productive morning. I got up a little before 8 AM and poured my usual cup of coffee before taking care of the dogs. I had vegan strawberry yogurt, a cosmic apple, some grapes, and toast with vegan butter and jam for breakfast. I cut up three sweet potatoes into cubes and put them in a baggy in the freezer, for later use in the African sweet potato peanut stew I will likely whip up tonight after GUPPY EFFECT band practice. Then I pre-practiced a few songs in anticipation of said practice, before changing into bicycling garb and tooling over to Pinnacle, where I met Deborah (who drove her car there), to relax by and in the outdoor pool. That's actually where I am right now as I write this. We'll probably swim a few laps if some lanes open up in the pool. It's crowded here today, probably because it is a weekend and hot.

I'll tool home about 2 PM to meet Stefan at my house for band practice at 3 PM. GUPPY EFFECT has a show next Saturday 8/2 @ Bierock in Waunakee WI (actually, it's still Madison, I think). I'm geeked for the rocking, which will follow an intense week of seeing marriage and family therapy clients.

Fin.

I Suppose

Well, Dear Readers, I suppose I should post.

The Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs) are not having their greatest week. And that's awesome. It means our collective intentional daily action steps to thwart them are working.

If you recall last weekend's random post, I set myself a wellness challenge for this past week to abstain from all social and mainstream media (SMSM). Since that's my default setting, it wasn't really that hard to do, but I was a little more assertive about it. For example, when Deborah asked, "Can we listen to the news?" I responded, "Nope." And she respected that. Were it not for the wellness challenge, I would have responded with a more passive, "I don't care." It's a mindset thing. You get what I'm saying?

Deborah and I had a wonderful mini-vacation to the pool yesterday evening. We didn't stay too long, because it was an atypically chilly day for mid-July. But we did 30 minutes of weight training beforehand, and we both agree that is paying off in terms of health and wellness.

I had to work a little bit today (Saturday). I was supposed to have two marriage and family Teletherapy clients, but one did not show up for the online session. So it was a light work day. I have a Systems Theory Consult Group meeting this afternoon, but I don't really identify that as work. It's more of a way to stay connected with some experts in my field. I plan to bike to the meeting by way of the Bloom Bakery, where I will score some vegan donuts for the group and a few additional vegan treats for Deborah and I.

I don't know what the rest of the day entails after that. Probably chilling at home. I might practice a bit of music ahead of the GUPPY EFFECT rock-n-roll gigs on 8/2 and 8/10.

Fin.

Poolside

Hi Dear Readers!

Get off the social media! It's poisoning your mind.

OK, PSA complete.

I started this blog post poolside at Pinnacle Athletic Club but had to save the draft and finish it later. Now it's later...

What can you buy for $4.20 these days? Probably a few things. But what it buys Deborah and me, respectively, is a few hours per day at the pool (by way of the gym). Our Pinnacle membership costs about $4.20 per day, each ($8.40 total) if we hit the gym/pool about 3x per week, on average, which we typically do. That's a pretty good deal given all the inflated hype about inflation that you see on social and mainstream media (SMSM). That's cheaper than the chai latte Deborah likes to get at the coffee shoppe.

SMSM has got it in its algorithmic head that there's a financial crisis going on and a bunch of inflation. I'm seeing that nowhere around me. Maybe it's happening somewhere else, and if you are somewhere else where it is happening, please leave a comment below. But if it is NOT happening to you personally, I kindly ask that you STFU and do not comment.

The pool was pleasant today. The sun was out, though it was unseasonably cool for July, due to the freak storms that came through yesterday. It was warm enough though, and after we did our requisite 30 minutes of weight training on the gym floor, we repaired to the pool for a few laps of swimming and a brief episode of lounging poolside.

You can say what you will about the so called Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs), but they are remarkable absent from our lives. I'd say life is as good, if not better, than this time last year.

Work/life balance is...well...balanced. Cost of living is about the same as last year. As long as I adhere to the Church of Bike With Joe tenet of abstaining from SMSM, the DFUs really have no direct access to our lives. If they ever find an analog way to pollute our space, we will punch them in their faces. A good day to you.

Fin.

Sunday Funday

Hi Dear Readers.

I hope this blog post finds you and brings you joy, insight, and/or action steps foe defeating Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs).

This is your weekly Sunday reminder that the single most important thing you can do for your mental, physical, and spiritual health is GET OFF SOCIAL MEDIA. Boycott it completely.

It takes about three weeks of social media abstinence to overcome the addictive dependency most people have on it. But it is very possible to do, if you substitute other positive activities for social media use instead. The main reason people succumb to social media use is boredom. If you stay actively involved in non-boring things, you will do fine. There are a gazillion pretty easy and no/low cost positive activities you can choose from, if you give it a little thought (I recommend inventorying a list of five to ten of these). Get out into nature and walk around using your five senses. Read/listen to a book. Watch a movie or TV show series. Make a recipe and eat it. Ride a bike. Explore the public transit system in your city. 

The main reason people turn to social media to alleviate boredom is the EASE of doing so. It's really not all that rewarding (small dopamine bump) and sometimes it leaves you feeling drained and angry (very negative emotions). But social media use is SO EASY, by design, that people will usually just pull out their smart phones and succumb to it, sometimes for a much longer time than is healthy. Alternative positive activities may take a little more effort to get going on, but not that much more, and they are often significantly more rewarding and time limited. So don't let ease be the enemy of your optimized enjoyment. Someday you are going to die and when you are on your death bed, are you going to be happy about how much time you spent on social media?

What's in store today, you ask? If all goes to plan, there will be exercise and rocking. I'm not sure of the exact order yet, but it will likely go something like this: pre-practice GUPPY EFFECT songs this morning (while Deborah sleeps in), in anticipation of this afternoon's GUPPY EFFECT band practice; bike to the gym for a swim and some lounging by the pool (great weather today); have the aforementioned GUPPY EFFECT band practice; and unscheduled time in the evening. Of course, I'll intentionally observe the Tenets of the Church of Bike With Joe, eating only vegan food, exercising, and abstaining from toxic social and mainstream media (SMSM).

Fin.