Books, Water weight, and Tinder gems

This weekend post is a day late, and I blame it completely on this:

I picked up this book at the library Saturday afternoon, and there went my weekend.  Glued to the pages.  I couldn't stop reading, even though I wanted to, because I knew if I didn't the story would end.  This is a book of fiction, set in WWII Europe, but it felt very real and honestly could have been the story of any number of millions of European children during the war.  The book alternates between the story of Werner, a young German orphan, whose eagerness to escape the mines ends up landing him a spot in Hitler's Third Reich army, and Marie-Laure, a young blind French girl who is displaced from her hometown of Paris due to the German occupation.  Their paths end up fatefully crossing, and that's all I'm gonna say.  [As I was reading, I was imagining some of the places Cely had visited on her recent trip to Europe.  Her photos and writings from that trip were all beautiful.]

So, other than spending two entire days reading that novel did I accomplish anything else useful?

On Friday, I went to the gym after work to do a quick run on the treadmill.  Seeing as I don't own a scale, I rarely weigh myself, but I decided to step on the digital scale in the locker room just for kicks.  Fun right?!  Then, I got on the treadmill and did a quick 3 miles.  I decided to weigh myself again post-run just to see if there was any difference, and I was a full POUND lighter, down to the tenth.  I sweated a fair amount and really didn't drink anything while running but it still surprised me.  I kind of wish I did have a scale because I'd be really interested to see how much water weight I lose on an outdoor run in the summer.  I'm guessing it's got to be at least 2-4 pounds?  Does anyone do this regularly to track their water intake?  I know I definitely don't drink enough water most days, but this inspired me to do so, seeing just how much I lost in 30 mins!

After the gym, I stopped by Wegmans and picked up 2 delicious packages of sushi.  No pic, because I ate it too fast.  Wegmans wins hands down for best supermarket sushi.  I'm leery of eating the sushi at most other grocery stores, but Wegmans never fails. I also picked up a new holiday tea while I was there:

It's yummy.  It's herbal and caffeine free so you can drink it late at night when you're up reading until 2am.  It's very sweet as is because of the caramel flavor and spices, so you really don't need any sugar or sweetener.  Trust me, I added honey like I usually do, and it was overly sweet.

After picking up several new library books on Saturday I had some errands to run.  My book high quickly wore off the second I stepped inside a store and saw holiday decorations everywhere and heard Christmas music playing through store's loudspeakers!?  So I guess we're here already.

Sunday I spent most of the morning lazily lying on my couch, watching a whole bunch of people run some little race in NYC.  The splits the elite men and women were running in the final miles of the marathon were literally blowing my mind.  5 min miles at mile 24?!  I can't even wrap my mind around that.

I had to work Sunday night until after 9pm, but I managed to finish the book by staying up until 1:30am after I got home.  Worth the raccoon eyes the next day. 

Oh, and I thought I'd end this post on a Tinder update.  Yes, I'm still on Tinder but rarely do anything with it anymore, except look at the ridiculous photo "moments" some of these cheesers post.  Like this one:

I mean WHO are these people posting screenshots of their bank accounts to attract women?!?! I just apparently don't understand the courting rituals of humans anymore.  This is why I've been on a total of TWO Tinder dates since I started that debacle back in the summer.  Overabundance of quality here, that's why.

Andddddddddd, that's about all I have.

Happy Monday a day late, which simply means it's Tuesday.



Favorite books this year?

Do you trust supermarket sushi?

Ever measured the water weight you lose on a run?

Do you want to take over my Tinder account?!

Current Thoughts

Once again, today's post is being brought to you by the random thoughts swirling around inside my head over the past week...Enjoy!

1.  I just finished this book:

 

It's a YA novel that I'd heard a lot about on the internets and was touted almost as highly as The Fault in our Stars.  I'll admit it took me longer than I thought to get into this one.  The beginning was a bit slow and somewhat overly cheesy for me (as YA romances tend to be, but admittedly that cheesiness is usually what keeps me coming back for more).  But as I kept reading, I became more and more interested and invested in Eleanor and Park's story and ultimately really liked it.  No spoilers here, but this is one of those books that just kind of ... ends.  With loose ends and no real conclusion.  I really dislike those kinds of endings in books. I mean I just invested DAYS of my life reading all your words on all of your pages and you're just going to leave me like that?!  There better be a sequel here. And I can promise you this - when I write my first book, whether it be the next Great American Novel or a children's picture book - there will be a neat and tidy definitive ending people! 

 

2.  Came across this video of the one and only TSwift serenading a little boy in the hospital.  Just one more reason she is my favorite ever:

3.  Was at the park with my NannyKid this week enjoying the sun and sand(box) and a perfect stranger told me he thought I was a really great nanny!  DAY MADE  I love my job, but even more than that I just love my kids and am invested in making sure every day is the best day it can be for them :)

4.  Last night I was lifting free weights in the ladies gym (I don't do my free weights in the main gym because that area is overrun with meatheads and their grunting is just too much for me), and a nice older woman approached me because she wanted to know if I could show her some exercises for the back of her arms (tris).  Can I just tell you HOW excited I was to give her some one-on-one demos and instructions on how to do this?!  I kept it simple and just showed her overhead extensions, kickbacks and dips.  Then had her try each while I watched her.  Well I'm quite sure this was the Universe calling me out to get started on my PT certification.  Why exactly have I been putting this off for the past two years?!

5.  I am addicted to cherries.  It's becoming a problem.  I eat them every day.  I really don't know how I'm going to survive when it's no longer cherry season.  Or for that matter, when all the summer fruit goes out of season.  It's really not fair that we run out of peaches, blueberries, watermelon, sugar snap peas and everything that is good and right in this world after summer, and are expected to exist solely on apples and oranges for 9 straight months.  Just another reason I need relocate to a warmer climate.

6.  I just read this article on my Runner's World Facebook feed, in which they made the RW Half course flatter and faster this year by taking out some of the hills!  Oh sure, the year after I run it, they make it flatter.  This kind of has me considering running it again this year to see if I could better my time.  Sooo, this one may be back in the candidate pool for my fall race.  If the hills scared any of you away last year, this just may be the year to get in on the fun in Bethlehem.  Come run in my hometown!  Even if I don't run, I'll show up to cheer you on and give you the grand tour of the Christmas City!  DO IT

7.  Came across this on my FB feed from a distance runner and plant-based nutritionist I follow, and life really is that simple: 

Source

That's all for now folks.  The end :)

Happy Weekend!

Into the Wild

 

 

Wow.  It's been some time since a book has absorbed me so quickly and affected me so deeply as Into the Wild.  I devoured this book in two days.  Something about the person Chris McCandless was spoke to me, and even though I knew how his story ultimately would end, I was so intrigued to learn more about this curious young thinker. 

 

Truly, I don't know how I never picked up this book.  Years ago I remember hearing about his story so I'm not sure how this never made it onto my reading list.  I've never seen the movie either, which is a plus, as I generally like to read books before seeing their interpretations on film. 

 

After finishing the book, I did some Googling to find out more and discovered there is/was a great bit of controversy surrounding both the author and protagonist of the book.  Critics of the deceased McCandless claim he was an arrogant, foolish rich kid who had no business hiking into the Alaskan wilderness, and some even claim he was suicidal for doing so.  Critics of Jon Krakauer, the author of the book, dislike his glamorizing of McCandless's odyssey and also think Krakauer is incorrect when it comes to his theory on how McCandless died.  I don't think anyone will know the whole truth, and it's of course impossible to know what was going on inside Chris's head, but although I may not agree with everything he did, I admire him for chasing after and leading his life as authentically as he did.  Not many people have the audacity and courage to abandon the chains of security in their life and chase after their biggest dreams, and I've always admired those that do (perhaps because I've been afraid to chase some of my biggest dreams?).  It is the risk-takers, the dreamers, those that dare step out of the box, that make history and lay claim to accomplishments others of us only dream about.  Isn't this why people run marathons?  To do something that only a small portion of people will ever do? 

 

McCandless has also been accused of being selfish, but I would argue who shouldn't be selfish when it comes to designing their own life?  Building one's personal philosophy, setting goals and deciding how to live one's life is a wholly selfish endeavor.  After graduating from Emory, Chris donated his $24,000 trust fund to charity, a decidedly unselfish act if you ask me.  However, in the two years he spent on the road, he never touched base with his parents, and that's a little unfathomable.  I can't imagine what his parents must have been going through during that time (or how they could never have attempted to find him??).  His disagreement with the way they chose to live their lives led him to cut ties with them, and perhaps he knew they'd prevent him from doing what he was doing. 

 

One of the things about Chris's personal philosophy that really struck home with me was his distaste for American consumerism and materialism.  The book stated that his room in college consisted of not much more than a bed on the floor and some milk crates.  When he set out on the road following graduation, he didn't take many possessions and eventually burned all his money!  His desire to disconnect from the 'more, more, more' mindset of our modern society is admirable.  After leaving an industry whose sole focus was indeed money, I've had the same sort of feelings.  It seems the more we have, the more we want, and the more we think we need.  It's a vicious cycle.  I always felt somewhat out of place in my prior career because my ideals about the world didn't really jive with the moneymakers I worked with.  I often long to live more simply.  Do you ever notice how many messages we are sent daily from all forms of media telling us we need this or that to make us happier, skinnier, prettier, etc?  All short-term fixes.  I don't know about you, but I tend to be happiest when I am communing with nature, spending time with people I love, or following my heart - all of which cost nothing. 

 

What I take away from this book is a powerful message to live your life fully, according to your own design.  Who are we to judge the way someone else chooses to live (or die)? I don't think Chris McCandless was mentally ill.  By all reports found in his journal notes throughout his two year adventure, he seemed like he was living his dream.  It's sad that his parents had to suffer and that he didn't make it through his ordeal, but whether you believe him to be a fool or a hero, probably would be of no concern to him anyway. 

 

I'll leave you with a poignant quote from Chris which I think sums up his message tidily:

 

"It is the experiences, the memories, the great triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent in which real meaning is found."

 

 

Your turn!

 

Have you read Into The Wild?  What were your thoughts?

 

Do you have any big, wild, maybe crazy, dreams of your own?