Cellar Scribblings

[Jeff Wrangler]

The kindergarten and 1st grade classrooms in my elementary school had their own bathrooms attached to the classroom. It was only in 2nd grade that we began to use the "public" bathrooms, and classes were given "bathroom breaks." I remember the first time I had to do this telling my teacher, "But I don't have to go." She told me to go anyway. 

(I don't remember if I actually did.  )

[Brokeback_Dev]

Hey Chuck. I hope you had fun for Independence Day in New Jersey. I have family there. I have a brother that I have been in touch with since the last time I was there when we had a little Brokie gathering with you, Lynne, delmardeb and me. it was in 09. I'll never forget it. It was the first time being home since 1975. My point is that he, my brother, wants to see me. He wants me to come visit him. I dont know when its happening but I hope it happens.  Maybe we can plan some kind of  gatnering whenever the time comes. This is all with good intentions.  My brother is vey ill and recovering from cancer surgery with one problem after another.  I have to be the strong ray of light he needs and i dont know if I am.
The last administration and the onslaught of awfulness that continluallly occurs daily really gets to me.  I need a break and I need some people I can trust. 

[CellarDweller]

Hiya BetterMost friends!!!!

quiet weekend here, just getting chores and stuff done.   


Covid has really made a lot of people become homebodies and introverts.   When I saw my friends at their home last month, we discussed this.   I still enjoy going out and seeing friends once I'm in the midst of it, but now, when the day comes, when I first wake up, my thoughts are "ugh, I gotta get ready and go out".

I never used to be that way before.

Of course, online shopping is a part of this too.  I remember when I needed something, I needed to make myself presentable, and go out and get the items.  Now,  it just comes to my home, and I just put it away.

I haven't even had the desire to just go anywhere anymore.   People's lifestyles are becoming more sedentary, and that is really not good, especially as we age.   My parents are still very active at 83 and 77, going out for walks, doing projects around the house, and meeting friends for breakfast regularly. 

It seems that people are forgetting how to look and act when they're out now.  Drivers are more aggressive, people dressing very down when they go out.   I still like being presentable when I go out, I feel like a made an effort in myself.

I've made the conscious decision to be more active in my daily life.   I work at my office two days a week,  and there are rows of cubicles.   One day, I decided to walk the perimeter of the office once, and count the steps.  It was 200 steps once around, so when I'm at the office, every 30 minutes I get up and walk the perimeter twice.  That's 400 steps, 15 times a day, which equals 6,000 extra steps from 8 - 3.

The days I work from home, I'm down in my parents' basement with my laptop,  and their desktop.  So at 3 different times during the day, I'll use their desktop to pull up YouTube, and do an exercise routine called "Leslie Sansone - Walk Away The Pounds".   According to what I've read online, you need to do 30 minutes or more of exercise a day.   I never seem to fit that in at once.  However,  if I do 3 15 minute routines during the day (say, 9:00,  12:00 and 3:00) then I've had 45 minutes of exercise during the day.

I wasn't in the mood to exercise on Friday, so today I've gone down to the basement of the building at noon and did a 15 minute session.  I'll do one before dinner, and then the last one maybe about 8:00, watching the videos on my phone.   I could do it my apartment, but I don't want to be stamping up and down over my downstairs neighbor.  LOL

It's working.  I started this in June, and as of today, I've lost 20 pounds.   My clothes are loose again, and yesterday I noticed that the gap between my stomach and my car's steering wheel has increased.  My stomach never touched the wheel, but the gap was noticeably smaller.   I've purposefully kept this off of Facebook, because once you put anything there, it becomes everyone's business.      I don't want constant questions about how it's going, what I'm doing, blah blah blah.   If one day a pic gets posted of me and someone comments on the weight loss, I'll address it then.

I'm also noticing (remembering) that exercise can effect your moods.  I do feel better when I exercise.

[CellarDweller]

Hey Chuck. I hope you had fun for Independence Day in New Jersey. I have family there. I have a brother that I have been in touch with since the last time I was there when we had a little Brokie gathering with you, Lynne, delmardeb and me. it was in 09. I'll never forget it. It was the first time being home since 1975. My point is that he, my brother, wants to see me. He wants me to come visit him. I dont know when its happening but I hope it happens.  Maybe we can plan some kind of  gatnering whenever the time comes. This is all with good intentions.  My brother is vey ill and recovering from cancer surgery with one problem after another.  I have to be the strong ray of light he needs and i dont know if I am.
The last administration and the onslaught of awfulness that continluallly occurs daily really gets to me.  I need a break and I need some people I can trust. 

Hello Dev.  I'm sorry to hear about your brother.  I get what you're saying about being the ray of light for him.  I'm sure you feel both mentally and physically exhausted by all of this.  Please don't doubt yourself.  I'm sure that you are doing great by your brother, and that he appreciates it.

[Front-Ranger]

Hey, Chuck I appreciate your insights about how the pandemic changed society. There was an article in The New Yorker recently called "Cabin Fever" or "Stir Crazy", something like that. It talked about what isolation can do to people. It even theorized that Putin suffered from the isolation, causing him to lash out at Ukraine. David Brooks in the NY Times said it has caused the uptick in mass shootings. I partially blame the pandemic for the attack and killing of the permaculture guild I led in Denver. Incivility and downright nastiness are on the rise.

But are we misplacing the blame? It seems to me these qualities were growing before the pandemic, during the rise of Trump, and the pandemic just catalyzed them. Sent them into hyperdrive, so to speak.

We have to add shopping to the growing list of things our descendants won't know about. Oh, sure, they buy a lot of things online, but the thrill of finding something unexpected is gone. Also gone is the ability to handle something, feel its texture, admire the colors and the quality or lack of quality of the item. Online shopping is just no fun.

I admire your disciplined approach to exercising. I'm looking forward to the time when I can do walks, maybe swimming or yoga. Right now it's mowing, weeding, raking, hauling, pruning, etc. until I'm exhausted every day. People who do this work are too busy to take on a new client, so I'm stuck with it. Today, I got up at 6:30 am to do some mowing and watering and take out the trash and bundle up slash. It's 2 PM now and I feel like I'm ready for bed. Going to hop in the shower for the second time today. 

[Sason]

Well done, Chuck!

You're so determined when you've made up your mind. I really admire that.

[CellarDweller]

Hey, Chuck I appreciate your insights about how the pandemic changed society. There was an article in The New Yorker recently called "Cabin Fever" or "Stir Crazy", something like that. It talked about what isolation can do to people. It even theorized that Putin suffered from the isolation, causing him to lash out at Ukraine. David Brooks in the NY Times said it has caused the uptick in mass shootings. I partially blame the pandemic for the attack and killing of the permaculture guild I led in Denver. Incivility and downright nastiness are on the rise.

Hiya Lee!   I've never given any thought to Putin and isolation causing him to lash out that way.   I can see where that idea would have merit.   As for mass shooters, I think that isolation was the tipping point.  My own opinion, there were a multitude of prior issues that pushed them in that direction, and the isolation was the straw that broke the camel's back.  Or, the isolation (lack of personal connection) made it ok in their broken minds to act out against others.

But are we misplacing the blame? It seems to me these qualities were growing before the pandemic, during the rise of Trump, and the pandemic just catalyzed them. Sent them into hyperdrive, so to speak.

I can agree with this.   I can remember seeing pics of people at Republican rallies wearing T-Shirts that said "Fuck your feelings!'.   

We have to add shopping to the growing list of things our descendants won't know about. Oh, sure, they buy a lot of things online, but the thrill of finding something unexpected is gone. Also gone is the ability to handle something, feel its texture, admire the colors and the quality or lack of quality of the item. Online shopping is just no fun.

I agree with you on this.   I also like going to the store, picking items up, trying them on to see how they look on me, and then buying it.  I'm the same with my music.  I don't like to download files.  I want to have the physical CD, read the liner notes in the booklet, which you loose when you down load a clip.

I admire your disciplined approach to exercising. I'm looking forward to the time when I can do walks, maybe swimming or yoga. Right now it's mowing, weeding, raking, hauling, pruning, etc. until I'm exhausted every day. People who do this work are too busy to take on a new client, so I'm stuck with it. Today, I got up at 6:30 am to do some mowing and watering and take out the trash and bundle up slash. It's 2 PM now and I feel like I'm ready for bed. Going to hop in the shower for the second time today. 

I remember reading some time ago that one of the reasons that Americans are becoming so obese is that our jobs are not physical.  In the past,  we did hard labor to earn a living.  Now, we pay people to do our hard labor.   I understand that you are missing your exercise time, but all the items you listed above are physical and make you burn calories / fat.   Your work is still a workout, that's beneficial to you.

[CellarDweller]

Well done, Chuck!

You're so determined when you've made up your mind. I really admire that.

One of my problems is that I lose focus quickly.  When I was at my lightest, I went on a trip to London and Italy.  After that trip, when I got home, I fell out of all my good habits and into all my bad ones.  I now need to focus on staying in my good habits.

[Sason]

You're absolutely not the only one to fall out of your good habits after something happens in your life.

For me it was a certain movie...

[CellarDweller]

You're absolutely not the only one to fall out of your good habits after something happens in your life.

For me it was a certain movie...

Must've been one heck of a movie.