What A Day

Without getting into details let me just say that I had a very interesting day yesterday. I was under a significant amount of pressure to accomplish a difficult and very personal task. Success meant having to to get over a number of hurdles that I had no control over. Everything had to come together by 3pm or it would be an epic failure.

From the start, I had people telling me, "There's no way this can happen today." I must have heard that 5 times between 7am and 3pm. Every time I heard it, the words were spoken by the "hurdle" themselves and every time I heard it, somehow, someway, I got over (or past) it.

Like everyone, I face daily challenges. Most of them I knock out with little effort or thought. Some, I have to wrestle with to complete. Others take more time and finesse. This challenge, well, as I sat in my car, driving home at 3:05pm, I realized I had little to do with the fact that it was successfully completed. Help came from above. Yup...I truly believe that all my angels, especially my sister Camille, poked, prodded, nudged and did what they had to to help me. I drove home with tears in my eyes and a feeling of deep appreciation that I have not felt in a long time.

You may think this is weird. I kind of do but, it makes me feel good believing it's true.

It's been a while since I've posted. Frankly, the time has just flown by. The holidays were just a blur but, they were also very peaceful. I'm so very glad that 2009 is behind me and I'm looking forward to a great 2010.

I was just in Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show. The business I was there to conduct went pretty much as planned. A couple of last minute meeting cancellations but, for the most part, I got more accomplished than I expected. I have a couple of pending opportunities that I believe will make my company very happy.

So...the video...While at CES, I stopped by the Taser booth. I noticed people standing in line and just out of curiosity I asked what was up. Turns out these people, about 30 or so, men and women, where waiting in line for their chance to be "tased". Ok...I thought the same thing...WTF is up with that??? Anyway, I shot video and posted a sample above. Had I really been thinking I would have taken video of many others being tased and then compiled a new 12 second film. Maybe next year?

Not the greatest picture in the world but, you get the idea. Last night was the FitandFearless Christmas party. Julie and I had a blast. The place was perfect, the tapas were awesome, the adult beverages were cold, and the company was spectacular.

Big thanks to Jeff and Kersten for everything!

It Is Friday!

So, this past Wednesday was fight night. Smaller crowed than usual but, this time, Heath joined in the fun. I'm sorry that I didn't get to spar with him but, after seeing him in action....I don't know. Maybe it's better he just beats on everyone else and leaves me alone. The boy can kick!

I gassed again a couple of times which frankly is embarrassing. I've worked pretty damn hard on my cardio so it kills me that I can't keep up with these young mofo's. Other than gassing, I felt pretty good about the way things went. Still have crap kick defenses but, I'm getting used to being kicked and countering with a flurry of punches over the top. Jason Fry laid a beatdown on my with front and round kicks but, I was able to punch him in the black eye I gave him last week. Sad but, it did bring a smile to my face...

Anyway, I have a big customer demo to do today and hopefully good results will lead to a wonderful start to 2010. Christmas party tonight with the Fit and Fearless crew which promises to be fun. Should all lead to a nice pre Christmas weekend full of shopping!

Fight Night

Several weeks back we kicked off "fight night" again. It's not a class where you are taught to fight by an instructor. It's pretty much like on the job training. An experienced instructor coordinates the partnering but pretty much, it's anything goes. All stand up, hands and legs. 16 ounce gloves, shin pads, cup, mouth piece, headgear if you so desire.

So, after the first couple of weeks that I've been able to attend, what have I learned about my declining skills? A few things for sure....

#1 I'm old
#2 I'm slow
#3 I bruise easy
#4 I recover slowly
#5 After 5 rounds, two minutes seems like a lifetime
#6 My kick defenses are non existent

Thankfully, my vision is good so I can still pick out an opening or two (watch out for the big over hand left). I'm also smart....I stay away from those that are much younger and much less experienced. It keeps me from getting hurt. Damn kids these days and their head kicks!

Anyway, we're on again tonight. Ahhhh....my moment of zen begins at 7:30pm CST.

Hotel exercise room and crazy stares!

I'm up in Portland, OR for the Supercomputing show. I got up early this morning, well, more like didn't really sleep last night and decided to go down to the "exercise room". It's like 6am when I get down there. Three guys are in the room. Guy #1 is 60ish, walking on the treadmill. Guy #2 is 40ish just booking on an elliptical machine. Guy #3 is maybe 30 and is on the Universal weight machine.

Me, I get in the zone. iPod cranked up with one of my favorite workout playlists. I jump on the treadmill for the "run a mile as fast as I can run it" warmup. I Ran by A Flock of Seagulls is blasting in my ears. I finish the mile in just under 9 minutes (yes, that's fast for me), jump off the treadmill, grab 2 35# dumbells and 1 50# dumbell and go right into a WOD of 21, 15, 9, Thrusters, Swings (with the 50# dumbell) and pushups.

Now remember, I'm old...I have to stop and rest several times during the WOD and even made a trip to the trash can when I thought I was going to puke but, I'm moving through the WOD pretty quickly. I finish my last pushup and just drop to the ground, arms and legs splayed out like I was dead and ready to have a chalk outline drawn around me. About that time, Long Road to Ruin by the Foo Fighters is on (love that song!). I role over, eyes closed, breathing heavy. I smile, proud of myself for finishing and finishing as fast as I did.

I open my eyes and Guy #3 is bent down over me looking like he's about to start CPR. I still have the iPod blasting so I can't hear what he's saying and he starts to yell, "Are you OK! Are you OK???" I pull the headphones out of my ears, tilt my head and look at him (like my female beagle does when you say the word cookie to her) and say, "I'm fine, what the hell is wrong with you?" He actually extends a hand to help me up and goes on to tell me that he stopped his workout about the time I went to the trashcan thinking I was going to puke because he'd never seen anyone do a workout like that before. I then realize that Guy #1 is standing on the stopped treadmill staring at me and Guy #2 is on his stalled elliptical doing the same.

I wound up spending the next 15 minutes catching my breath and explaining to the three of them what Cross Fit was. All in all, an excellent way to start the day!

More Travel?

Just got back tonight from a great trip to the home office in Nashua, NH. Weather was good, business was better...Now I'm home long enough to do my laundry and repack for Portland, OR where I head on Monday for the SuperComputing show.

I missed working out this week and really missed Wednesday night's fight class. I'm going to bring some stuff with me so I can workout next week. The hotel has a gym which makes it a easier to knock out some crazy Cross Fit workout. No gym at the hotel this week which means if I want to work out it's Bas Rutten on my iPod and frankly, I've done so much Bas his voice is getting to me. Sorry Bas...

Anyway, Julie is still at her mom's and I am the worlds worst bachelor (0r maybe the best). I have no clean clothes, no clean dishes and the house smells funny. Whats up with that???