thanks for the star, WordPress, but i never actually set this as a goal, so… ? also, the Emerson quotation is just confusing in this context. random generator at work, most likely.

however, actual thanks for the reminder: i should be working out and posting more!

in re persistent Oxford comma use on this blog and elsewhere:

Plus:
- casual Nerf-gun battling (minor injuries sustained);
- extra-deconstructed cassoulet
- smoke & stars
- verticals: De Dolle Oerbier, Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout (tragically underappreciated!)
- revelation: other people talk about nerdy sci-fi/fantasy even more than middle school me.

20 squats
20 forward lunges with twist
10/side lunge combos (side > reverse / reverse > side)
10/side single-leg squats
20 lunge jumps
30 toe raises
10 squat jumps
0:30 plank

“…To tell you the truth, I don’t enjoy the game—I’ve never actually had fun within the course of those ninety minutes.” Because the object is always a shutout—a “clean sheet,” as the British call it—he can never relax.

Tim Howard’s Goal (Back Issues, January 5, 2012)

immediately i wondered: why are fun and relaxation placed in opposition to high-level play? i always thought of relaxation as the ability to control the pace of the game, slow down time, etc. i thought of it as one of the hallmarks of an elite athlete. perhaps things are different when you’re playing a real sport; when your on-field job involves a lot of tense standing around between bouts of high acrobatics; when all kinds of ca$h-money is riding on every game.

seemed as good a time as any to set some health-related goals for the upcoming year. actually, no: for the month of january. small steps.

1. be a better workout buddy. speaking of which… should give that panda friend a call.
2. better skin care. actually, nearly everything to do with the pursuit of happy skin would be good for me no matter what the motivation.
3. start the season early. work out with focus, think about the game, get teammates thinking about the game. work with T. Fink to plot dinner destinations in all possible tournament metropoli. get a handle on just how much to get involved.

here’s what i cooked by the way:

- carrot, parsnip, fennel, and canary bean salad, a fridge-clearing riff on this old standby. it’s marinating at the moment, about to be a bitchin’ weekday lunch starting tomorrow.

- red kale, carrot, and canary bean soup with ginger, onions, garlic, and carrot tops (they smell like parsley and taste like a mild version thereof). fresh and healthy, just right for January. beans again, not just because the better part of a pound was left after the salad, but also because beans and peas are good luck for the new year in at least two cultures of which i’m aware. in Kyoto, sweet black beans are a pun on a phrase meaning “hard work.” and you can read about new and exciting takes on peas and rice here or here.