What a crazy month! Everyone died, Jon and Kate broke up, Iran is standing up for itself , American troops withdrew out of Iraqi cities, USA soccer was really good, everyone on Facebook complained about the weather a lot in NYC and LA. I'm sure you're most concerned about the results of my Challenge. Here's my full June "Read, Sweat, Post" Challenge Diary. I dropped the ball with my reading, didn't quite do 30 posts and missed some workouts, but I was a good lapsed Catholic and felt guilty for my failures every step of the way.
To summarize my June:
- Days of Reading: 16.
- Days of Sweating: 23.
- Number of Posts: 25.
- Number of celebrities that passed away: 6. (including comedian, Frank Travalena)
June 1
June 1 Read
- I couldn't sleep 1 AM last night when I found an unidentifiable bug in the bathroom. I read about 15 pages of Chuck Klosterman's IV. I liked his essay about the death of Dee Dee Ramone of the Ramones and Robbin Crosby of Ratt. Both deaths were heroin induced and 24 hours apart. Though Ratt was a larger commercial success and could be considered "more famous," no one in the media (i.e. rock critics and journalists) cared about Robbin's death as much as Dee Dee's. It's an interesting analysis about the subjective nature of good taste. Best quote to sum up the essay: "The things that matter to normal people are not supposed to matter to smart people."
June 1 Sweat
- 40 minutes on the treadmill, run and walk at 3.0-6.0 mph at different inclines
- 4 reps of 25 on inner and outer leg hip abduction machines at 65-100 lbs
- 2 reps of 25 on quad leg curl machine at 40-55 lbs
- 3 reps of 25 on leg press machine machine at 90-110 lbs
- 4 45-second intervals of planking, 3 minutes total
- Jon and Kate Plus 8. I drank the Kool-Aid.
June 2
June 2 Read
- Read more of Chuck Klosterman's collection of articles and essays, IV including his article about the Fargo underground scene. I can't really remember any details because The Real Housewives of New Jersey shot up my brain and left it in the trunk of a Lincoln Continental in the parking lot of a Jersey catering hall.
June 2 Sweat
- 60 minutes on the treadmill, run/walk 3.0-6.0 mph, various inclines
- 2 reps of 12 of various arm and shoulder, 10 and 12 lbs weights
- 250 Crunches
June 2 Post
Was Looking Forward to Tonight - New casting class tonight that no one told me was canceled.
Today I Learned How To
- Infuse vodka. My friend Allison gave me a quick lesson and recipe ideas. We were supposed to be in a class tonight that no one told us was canceled.
Crap TV I DVRed tonight because I was supposed to be in a class that no one told me was canceled. I instead hung out with Allison and learned how to booze up fruit and vegetables
- Real Housewives of New Jersey
- Repeat of last night's Charm School
June 3
June 3 Read- 20 pages of The Giver by Lois Lowry. The Giver is this month's book club selection. My book club meeting is sort of tomorrow night. I sort of used that this is a Young Adult book as a reason to procrastinate. Take a guess what will be tomorrow's read.
- 30 minutes on the treadmill, 15 minutes run and 15 minutes walking
- 2 reps of 25 on inner thing hip abductions, 100 and 110 lbs.
- 2 reps of 25 on butt leg curl machine thing, 30 and 35 lbs
- 3 minutes of planking
Crap TV I Wished I DVRed:
- I'm totally missing I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here. Was it on tonight? Has it been on every night this. I need to make room on my DVR. I might have to delete that I'm Michael J. Fox and I'm An Optimist Because I Have Parkinson's and I'm Michael J. Fox ABC Special from last month.
June 4
June 4 Read- The remaining 159 pages of The Giver by Lois Lowry, just in time for tonight's Book Club meeting. Before you put any energy in being impressed, it's a book written for smart 12 year olds and I'm a 30 year old that's put a lot of time in watching Reality TV. So yeah, I guess you should be a little impressed.
- 30 minute run in my neighborhood. There were hills! I sweated, I swear! Then I ate 30 dates wrapped in bacon at Book Club so it doesn't matter.
- Technically posted Wanted: This Bar after midnight on June 5, but I started writing it at 11:30 on June 4. I spent some time Google image searching "Twisted Bar Greenpoint" and got nothing. 1-3 people reading this will get the reference. Everyone else should feel good they never found themselves in a bar off the BQE that's only top shelf offering is a near empty bottle of 99 Monkeys banana flavored liqueur.
- Um. Merlin. NBC mini-series starting June 21. It looks like Xena meets Hercules meets a Sci Fi Channel movie.
June 5
Ok, I'm already cracking. I did workout today, but I didn't read and the post I wrote is crap. Alex will have the car for most of the day tomorrow so I'll have no choice but sit at home and catch up.
June 5 Read
- Nope.
- 20 minutes on the Elliptical Machine
- 25 minutes of the Stationary Bike
- 4 reps of 25 on the outer and inner thigh hip abduction machines, 85-115 lbs
- 2 reps of 25 of leg curl butt machine thing, 30 and 35 lbs
- 2 reps of 25 of quad machine, 50 lbs
- Lot of free weights, 10 and 12 lbs weights
- 200 crunches
June 5 Post
June 6
June 6 Read
- I read the first 17 pages of My Holocaust by Tova Reich. I should have put more time into reading today since I miserably failed yesterday, but I wanted to post this before midnight.
June 6 Sweat:
- 21 minutes of walking on the treadmill
- 2 miles run on the treadmill at a very slow 12 minutes per mile so 45 minutes total of cardio
- 4 reps of 25 on Seated Leg Press machine, 2 reps of 90 lbs, 1 rep of 100 lbs and 1 rep of 110 lbs
- 1 rep of 25 on the Leg Curl butt machine thing, 35 lbs
- 3 one minute planks
June 6 Post
Wishing I was
- On Katie and Jim's rooftop in Williamsburg tonight.
June 7
June 7 Read
- A few more pages of Chuck Klosterman's IV including his ESPN essay about Barry Bonds.
- Three hours of golf practice and a lesson. It's debatable if a pastime that you can drink, eat, smoke, and be fat while doing is considered a sport, but my back and shoulders hurt so I'm counting it. I'm actually counting my next three golf lessons as my Sunday "Sweat" during the rest of this challenge.
June 8
June 8 Read
- A few pages of My Holocaust and then I fell asleep. At 4:30 in the afternoon
June 8 Sweat
- 25 minutes on the treadmill
- 20 minutes on the elliptical
- 4 reps of 25 on outer thing hip abduction, 60-90 lbs
- 4 reps of 25 on the inner thigh hip abduction, 80-110 lbs
June 8 Post
June 9
Ugh, today was spent with a pulled shoulder and writer's block. While I wasn't sweating or writing, I did get some reading in.
June 9 Read:
- President Obama's speech in Cairo.
- Some more Klosterman.
June 9 Sweat:
- Last night while backing out of a parking lot, I turned my neck and it felt like the wrath of God was ripping my head off. I think that was a sign to take a breath and relax. So I spent today on the couch with a heating pad and a bottle of Aleve. A little warm under that heating pad? Yes. Sweat? No.
June 9 Post:
- I got nothing, folks. I'm tapped out. Viva la Day 10!
June 10
June 10 Read
- I still have to pick up an actual book. I just read my diary entries and school essay at Mortified tonight. I was a little nervous because there were actual people there. A lot of actual people. The audience was amazing and I had a great time!
June 10 Sweat
- I sweated for real today. I ran 3 miles on the treadmill! And then crunches and leg press stuff... you know the drill.
June 10 Post
- I loved John Hodgman's segment on the Daily Show last night. I do need to make up for yesterday's writer's block, so I'm working on a letter to the now fired Miss California, Carrie Prejean.
TV I DVRed
- So excited for Top Chef: Masters!
Thoughts on Crap TV
- Okay, Jon and Kate: You need to have a major Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? meltdown or I'm going to stop watching. You were interesting and lovable when you were a too young cubicle jockey and a weekend nurse with some Jesus freak tendencies , that were way over your heads and doing the best you can. Now Emeril is coming to your house and making you a green bean casserole. Stop going on separate vacations and having stars of other basic cable shows visit you and fucking deal with each other. You're right, it's none of our business, but none of this was ever our business. You went ahead and made a TV show and now your children are all over the Internet. If you sit on that dumb couch and look each other in the eye and say something honest, we will be on your side.
June 11
Around 6PM on June 10 I drank half a Diet Coke with dinner. That night I fell asleep about eleven hours later, 5 AM on June 11. Hmm..think I'm becoming a little sensitive to afternoon caffeine? I spent yesterday with a blazing post- insomnia headache and didn't want to go near the computer. I'm working on a few posts but facing the eternal question: Do you want it fast or do you want it good? Second week into this Challenge, I'm finding it really hard to achieve all three tasks with any sort of quality. I'll pull it together and make up for the post-less days this week. There might be days that my only post will be my daily diary, but I'll put a little more effort into it than a laundry list of stuff I did or didn't do that day.
June 11 Read:
- While avoiding the computer and my phone, I spent more time with books. I put a little dent into My Holocaust. I'm still getting into it and I don't really have any strong thoughts about it yet.
- I also read more of Klosterman's IV. There's interesting piece he wrote for Esquire. He proposed that being worried that other countries don't like us because of our policies is just as ignorant as rednecks hating France because it opposed the war. The predisposition of liberals apologizing to other countries for Bush is systemic of a larger issue in our culture, the desperate need to be liked. Is being liked by everyone and making everyone happy the same as being good person? Are we spending so much energy wanting to be liked by everyone that we stray from our convictions and our own moral compass and being paralyzed form forging our own path independent of others fears and doubts? I spent a lot of my life desperately wanting to be liked by everyone and apologizing for any inconvenience that my existence might bring onto others. And now I'm 30 and tired. I think it might be easier and a lot more fun to be a bitch.
- Klosterman wrote another piece for Esquire about the idea of guilty pleasures and apologizing for liking what would be considered "bad:" reality TV, hair metal, movies that will find a home on TBS on Sunday afternoons. It's not important what you like or feeling bad that you like it, but defining for yourself why you like it. This kicked me in my own "please like me" ass. I like a lot of "bad" TV and I will no longer apologize it. You've probably made a decision about my taste level and intelligence and your opinion really isn't going to change knowing that I kind of like Ashley and hope she'll win Charm School. Why do I watch Charm School and why am I rooting for Ashley? She's ragingly unapologetic and a complete bitch and I envy that. I also envy her eye shadow skills.
- After my headache subsided and I woke up a little bit, I did some Pilates exercises and push ups at home.
- Um, this might be it.
June 12
June 12 Read:
- Hmmm, not really.
- Hmmm, not really.
June 13
June 13 Read:
- Hmmm, not really.
- Ran 30 minutes on the treadmill.
- 4 reps of 25 on the inner and outer thigh weight machines.
- 300 crunches.
- 5 reps of 12 of 10 lb free weights.
- 90 minute golf practice.
- Hmmm, not really.
June 14
June 14 Read:
- Worked on some more Klosterman last night.
- 90 minute golf lesson.
- Hmmm, not really.
June 15
June 15 Read
- Some more Klosterman.
- Hmmm, not really. I was really sore after the weekend.
- Hmmm, sort of.
- Sitting with a heating pad after a long weekend of golf while watching Bethenny Frankel guest hosting the Today Show. Poor Hoda seems a little overwhelmed.
June 16
June 16 Read
- Almost done with Klosterman. I read maybe five pages and fell asleep.
- I have to get going on this month's book club selection, Bear's Eye by Yannick Murphy
- Spend more time with My Holocaust.
- 20 minute run on the treadmill
- 20 minutes on the stationary bike
- 4 reps of 15, 10lb free weights
- 2 reps of 25 on the leg press machine, 110 lbs
- 2 reps of 25, 5olbs on the quad machine
- 2 reps of 25, 30 lbs on the butt/leg curl machine
- Including today, I'm behind by four posts! I wrote 13 posts in the 17 days in June so far. Yikes! I should've done some catch up yesterday, but I was in a really bad mood. I was happy to get a sports bra over my head and get myself to the gym.
- I'm waiting for an LA City Council member's interview about who is picking up the check for today's Lakers parade to come on CNN. Everytime I watch CNN's coverage of the protests in Iran, the anchors really, really want to brand the protests in Iran as a "revolution," and you can tell the anonymous Iranians they're interviewing on the phone are kind of freaked out by that word.
- Nick Jonas (the ones that's not gay or 40) of the Jonas Brothers has diabetes. He's on a commercial telling me how he manages his diabetes and is selling me some blood sugar level machine thing. I think the cast of High School Musical should start selling Jazzy scooters.
June 17
I'll pepper this update with some exclamation points to make it appear interesting.
June 17 Read
- Almost done with Klosterman.
June 17 Sweat
- 90 minute golf practice! Then beer!
June 17 Post
Today's Tourist Tip
The "Corpse flower" bloomed today in the Huntington Library Botanical Garden. When this flower blooms it smells like the Nassau Ave G subway stop in August on garbage day after it rains...or a corpse.
June 18
June 18 Read
- I finished up IV by Chuck Klosterman.
- 45 minutes on the treadmill, ran and walked a little over 3 miles. Could do better.
- 4 reps of 25 on the inner thigh hip abductor, 85-110 lbs
- 4 reps of 25 on the outer thing hip abductor, 85 lbs
- 1 reps of 25 on the butt/leg curl, 35 lbs.
- I added another shitcanned-tivity to our list. I still have three more posts to catch up on. I'm sort of waiting for something awful/funny to happen.
June 19
June 19 Read
- Roast Pepper and Feta Dip, Green Bean Salad, Mango, Blueberry and Ginger Salad recipes on epicurious.com.
- Asparagus and Pine Nut Salad recipe in Sunset Magazine.
- Does scrubbing the tub, Magic Erasing the molding and blanching asparagus count?
- So much potential death in LA.
June 20
June 20 Read
- Not so much.
- Does more cooking and cleaning count?
- Not so much. I was too busy hosting a BBQ and socializing with real, live humans.
June 21
June 21 Read
- Not yet!
- 90 minute golf lesson
- 30 minute putting practice
- Working on it!
June 22
June 22 Read
- Does craigslist count?
- Yikes, not so much. I think there were four days so far in June that I didn't work out. I'm thinking of extending my challenge into July to make up for it.
- Seriously, people, there are free Scrabble boards (and racks) out there and you're totally ignoring these amazing opportunities.
June 23
June 23 Read
- Alright, I have a lot of catching up to do in this area.
- 40 minutes on the elliptical machine
- 4 reps of 25 on the outer and inner thing hip abductor machines, 80-110 lbs
- 4 reps of 25 on the leg press, 90-100 lbs
- 10 reps of 12 of 12 lb free weights
- Alright, I have a lot of catching up to do in this area also.
June 24
June 24 Read
- Read a few pages of My Holocaust.
- 25 minutes on the bike, levels 7-15
- 15 minutes on the treadmill, walking at 4.0
- 2 reps of 25 on the butt machine, 35 lbs
- My LA block.
- Real Housewives of New Jersey Reunion Part 2 of course.
June 25
June 25 Read
- I watched Michael Jackson videos on MTV and felt sad instead.
- Today I woke up with sore shoulders so I'll consider holding a camera while helping a friend shoot a webseries as my "sweat."
- It was a busy day of camera holding and video watching. I'm working on a post now about Michael Jackson.
June 26
June 26 Read
- I fell off the reading wagon...hard.
June 26 Sweat
- 1 hour of golf practice
June 26 Post
June 27 Read
- Nope.
June 27 Sweat
- Nope.
June 27 Post
- Nope.
June 28 Read
- Nope.
,June 28 Sweat
- My first nine holes of golf!
June 28 Post
- Nope.
June 29
June 29 Read
- 20 pages of My Holocaust. This book isn't moving for me. Clearly.
June 29 Sweat
- 30 minutes on the treadmill, 15 minutes run at 5.5-6.0 mph & 15 minutes walk at 3.5-4.0 mph
- 2 reps of 50 on the inner and outer thigh hip abductors, 100 lbs
- 2 reps of 50 on quad leg curl, 50 lbs
- 4 minutes of planking, including side plank!
June 29 Post
June 30
June 30 Read
- The rest of Sunset Magazine will getting a pedicure. There's a great recipe for Italian sausage and eggplant fettuccine. Who wants to come over?
June 30 Sweat
- 40 minutes on the treadmill, 20 minutes run at 5.0-6.0 run & 20 minutes walk at 3.5-4.0 mph
- 2 reps of 25 on the butt/leg curl machine, 35 lbs
- 2 reps of 25 on the leg press, 110 lbs
- 7 reps of 12, 10 and 12 lbs free weights
- 3 minutes of planking
June 30 Post
- A new Open Letter to a Douche
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PAUL M. WEBER, President
Los Angeles Police Protective League
