Finished

This is going to be a short post, because I'm already in the middle of another book. I finished Fifty Shades of Grey, and I'm going to go ahead and get the next two. In the end, she.... wait. I don't want to spoil it for you. Let me just say, there are some disturbing parts in the middle, but it's a pretty decent read if you can over look the fact that it A) started out as Twilight fanfiction; and B) really is shitty writing. If you took out all of the "I flush" "he slammed" and "whoas" and "holy shits/fucks", the book would be half as long as it is. Take out all the cliches, and you've got a book you can finish over your lunch break. But hey, I'm not at the top of the NY Times bestsellers list, so I'm just gonna shut up now.

50 Shades of WTF

Aagghh!! It's been so long since my last post; my goal of posting every day was NOT met. =( ok, so here's a quick update: I've drank beer, so the 30 day thing didn't happen. But, I have cut back... I've had four since the 12th, where as normally I would have had closer to fifty by now. Drinking beer also means I've cheated on the Paleo diet, but for the most part I've stuck to that pretty well too. I had icecream the other day, but a very small amount. Of course, Crossfit is still going well.  I haven't written anything since my last post; I've been busy with I don't even know what. No excuse, but it happens.

Ok, so what I REALLY wanted to post about is what I've been reading: 50 Shades of Grey. I can't decide if I like it or not. First of all, it's pretty poor writing, filled with cliche's and really shitty dialogue. (And it started as Twilight fan fiction. I don't know why I expected better.) Secondly, it's  story bout a woman willingly agreeing to be submissive to a man. This is where I'm torn. On the one hand, I can understand women wanting men that are, well, MEN. Someone who will make decisions and take responsibility, and who want to provide for someone they care about. It's annoying that just because women are stronger and more independent now, men think it's ok to be less than gentlemen. No woman wants to date a pushover. But this book takes it a little far. Grey wants to be completely dominant, even going as far as to not let her look him in the eyes without permission. It worries me that women seem to be so ok with this. I just saw a facebook post that says "For all men who think women don't come with a manual... Found one" with a picture of the book. This book is perfect for girls who dream of rehabilitating the "bad boy" (Grey tells Ana he is "fifty shades of fucked up").  I, however, am not one of those girls. I do not want a fixer-upper. I have enough issues of my own, I don't want to fix anyone else's. The sex in the book is hot, even though we read it through the super awkward lense of a prudish girl. I just don't understand why there needs to be a contract to have kinky sex. Anyways, I still haven't finished the book, so I won't make my final judgment yet. All I'll say so far is I would choose Elliot Grey over Christian in a heartbeat.

Cravings

Holy shit, it just hit me that June is almost over. My summer is flying by!! =( Ok, so I failed and didn't post yesterday, BUT it was a successful first day of Paleo. I even went out to eat and stuck to it! (ok, not COMPLETELY... I did dip my veggies in ranch. I'm ashamed.) Day two of any diet is always the hardest, I think, because that's when your body starts craving all the bad shit you've been putting into it. After Crossfit today I was really craving carbs... like, seriously, there's a box of whole-grain waffles in my freezer screaming at me. But I overcame the craving and made some bacon and now I'm waiting for my sweet potato fries to get done baking. (Cinnamon and Cajun seasoning = mmmmmazing.)
I know that some people disagree on what is Paleo, exactly, and what's not, and one of the main things people argue over is honey. Well, screw everyone, I drink raw honey in my tea (also arguably not Paleo) each morning. I use about two teaspoons to a tablespoon. Besides that, the only other sugar I consume is mainly from the fruit I eat, which is not a lot right now. So suck it, honey-haters. Oh! That reminds me, I want to warn you... when looking for Paleo blogs, make sure you apply the same rules to discerning which ones are legit as you would to anything else on the internet. I've come across a few with some real idiots commenting on them. (The best bet is to go out and buy a couple books, then decide for yourself which internet sources are reliable).
Another big adjustment with this kinda diet (ok, LIFESTYLE) is that you have to get the idea of "traditional" meals out of your head. You don't have to eat at a certain time... you eat when you're hungry. You don't have to have a three course meal, either, or even a meal that includes all the food groups. Listen to your body... it's a pretty good indicator of what you need. (ok, don't listen to it at first because it's going to be screaming SODA!! COOKIES!!! CAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKEEE!!! but after awhile it'll start telling you when you want fruit, or veggies, or protein.)
Alright, my fries are done. Peace, everyone!
WTYL,
Rhyen

A Productive Weekend

               So despite going out Friday night (without drinking beer, might I add! Sad face), I actually got up and went to Crossfit at nine on Saturday. Pretty proud of myself, I must say. That makes three weeks in a row I’ve went five days. I already went today, and it was pretty rough. We did the entire WOD outside and I went at noon… so it was hotter than a _______.  

                After I posted on Friday, I was also pretty productive. I tweaked a few short stories and submitted them for publication. I need to submit them to several more journals, but finding ones that fit your work and what not is kind of a daunting task.

              The most important thing I wanted to write about today is that I finished a book on my list! Miss Peregrine’s School for Peculiar Children turned out to be really, really good! I finished it at one thirty this morning. The author, Ransom Riggs, collects unique photographs, and he included some of his own as well as other collectors’ photos in this story. After I finished the book, I wondered… did he write the story around these peculiar photographs, or did he search for photographs to fit his story? Either way I think he has to have a brilliant imagination. I really want to know though, so I did something I’ve never done before… I emailed the author. I have no idea if he’ll reply, but it would be really neat if he did (plus it would guarantee I’d buy his next book). If you get the chance, I really recommend this book. It’s a pretty quick read, and definitely worth the time.

WTYL,
Rhyen

Busted

                Well, I had my first blow out today. We did a half “Eva” at Crossfit today, which means 75 pull-ups (and 75 kettlebell swings and a total of 2000 meters of running). As I collapsed on the mats after yelling time, I noticed I had ripped my first callus. Of course, in Crossfit, this is a rite of passage, so of course I was a little proud. Washing the chalk off my hands burned like HELL though, and so Coach and the other two trainers heard some choice words coming from the bathroom. I finished in 25:40 though, and the average time was around 28:00, so I’m super excited about that. A girl I normally work out with actually worked out an hour before me today and apparently went BEAST MODE and finished in under 22:00. She’s a badass. If I could get the running part down, the swings and pull-ups really aren’t all that bad.

                I’m headed to a coffee shop downtown now to sit outside and sip some coffee and work on submitting some of my stories. Here’s to another round of rejection emails!! Hope ya’ll have a great weekend.

WTYL,
Rhyen

Ups and Downs

                So today has been a day of ups and downs. Up: I got up to go to Crossfit. Down: I realized my kitchen was infested with ants and gnats, so I didn’t get to go to Crossfit. Up: I had more time to get ready for work. Down: Work sucked. Up: When I got home, I was able to drown most of the ants with Clorox kitchen cleaner. Down: My kitchen now smells like Clorox kitchen cleaner. Up: The experience inspired me to write a short story. Yaaaayyy!!

                I tried to console myself about not going to Crossfit… My right shoulder has been really sore, and so I probably needed to give myself a day off anyways. Plus, I don’t work Saturday, so I can go then and still make it five days this week. My non-Paleo food supply is dwindling; I think I can go strict Paleo starting Monday. Fingers crossed!!

                I am so so so so so so SO happy that I have finally written something. It’s extremely short, only 906 words, but it’s a complete story that I think has some potential with some major revisions. I’m just thankful I’m writing. Tomorrow I plan on submitting a lot of my finished pieces to as many different journals as I can. I need to get published if I ever want to be taken seriously when it comes to Ph.D. programs and job offers. I’m still nowhere near being on track to finish my 24 books, but I AM taking time to read each day. I wish I could get into a really, really good book that just sucked me in and took all my time, like Harry Potter did when I was little (it never took me more than 24 hours to read any one of the seven books) and the Hunger Games series did a couple years ago. Maybe the Shade of Gray Trilogy will be my new addiction. Who knows? I need to go buy the books and find out. =/

                Gotta be up early tomorrow to meet the exterminator, so I’m headed to bed. Let’s hope I don’t dream of creepy crawly things. Goodnight, ya’ll!

WTYL,

Rhyen

First World Problems

                I was much happier with my workout today than I was yesterday. The workout was 21-15-9 dead lifts, burpees, and ring dips. The prescribed weight for women on the dead lifts was 115, but I only did 95. I’m still at the stage where I need to focus on form rather than weight. And that’s still 20 more pounds than I was able to do last time, so I was happy. In case you don’t know what burpees are, all you really need to know is they suck. Nobody likes burpees. And I wasn’t able to do the ring dips, so I did box dips instead. I’ve added ring dips to my list of things I want to work on. I finished in 8:47. Not the greatest time but definitely not bad either. I focused on not taking as many breaks as I normally do. It’s slowly getting easier.

                 Our finish today was a one mile run. I hate running… I used to be pretty decent at it but now I suck at it and I know it’s all in my head. When Coach gives us a 400 meter finish, I’m dying at about 300 meters. When he gives us an 800 meter finish, I’m not dying until 700 meters. So I know it’s gotta be some kind of psychological bullshit. Today we did a mile and I walked some, but for the most part I ran and my time wasn’t all that bad… no worse than what it was when I was running on a treadmill at the gym. I try to motivate myself while running… mostly by imagining the zombie apocalypse. I really hope if that ever happens the zombies are slow like the walkers in “The Walking Dead,” not fast like in 28 Days Later or I’m screwed. If I ever had to run for my life, I’m sure I’d trip and fall.

                I haven’t read at all today, which means I need to get off of the computer and do that. And I still haven’t written anything except these posts, although I finally have a couple of ideas. I changed my mind about posting my ideas on here though, just because online copyright worries me. I’m not sure what the laws are, and I know some websites (including blogging ones) own all material that is posted on them. So be careful what you post on Facebook! That’s one of the sites that owns everything you throw up on your wall.

                In a little while, I’m headed downtown to catch up with a friend, and it’s gonna be my first test of NOT ordering a beer. I haven’t decided yet if I’ll try a mixed drink or if I’ll just order water. First world problems, for real.

WTYL,

Rhyen