Some of my ramblings as I head out for the holidays.... 1. This weekend I travel overseas (to Guam) to spend Christmas with my wife and her family. I'm your quintessential creature of habit, and have spent every Christmas thus far at my parents house in Vienna, Va, in temperatures typically surrounding the 15-35° mark. As such, I was initially a bit hesitant to break out of my "Christmas comfort zone."
You know, same Christmas Eve and Christmas morning routine, complete with the right music, the right food, and the right holiday cookies. And how can it be Christmas if it's not cold enough to snow?!
This budding uncertainty lasted about a total of 30 seconds however, as it quickly sunk in that I'd be a fool not to give up one year of my typical Holiday traditions in order to spend a week in December walking around shirtless in 85° weather on a Guam beach:
Yup. 'Nuff said.
Taking this trip also gave me a good article idea, given that I was recently planning my training for while I'm out of town. A lot of people seem to inquire about working out while traveling, so I'm thinking of writing an article on good ideas for traveling on the road, whether you have minimal equipment or access to a so-so hotel gym. Keep your eyes peeled!
I should note, too, that this trip also wouldn't be possible without an awesome boss and co-workers, who (for the life of me I don't know why) are letting me do this. So, to Sarah, Chris, Ryan, and Susan: THANK YOU!!
2. My "little" sister graduates from the Radford School of Nursing today, and I'm fortunate enough to be able to travel to Radford to attend her pinning ceremony before Kelsey and I fly out to Guam. She has worked her freaking butt off these past few years (I'm not sure how many realize just how demanding nursing school is), and I couldn't be more proud of her. I've seen her in action, and let me tell you, she rocks it hard as a nurse.
Congratulations Jenny!!! The medical world is now a better place because of you.
3. For those of you sitting at your desks on this particular Friday looking for something to occupy your time, see the video below:
Here Dr. Mike Evans contrives a REALLY cool presentation on "what is the single best thing we can do for our health?" Is it a simple message he delivers? Yes. But still something that many fail to grasp and will go a long way in saving our country's annual expenses related to health care. I can only imagine the the artist in this video was questioning her sanity by the end of this!
4. I hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas, or Hanukkah, or Holiday, etc., whatever you celebrate in particular. It's easily my most favorite time of the year, and I hope all of you have a fantastic time celebrating "the Season."
Have some fun while you're at it, too. While yes, I'll be sure to pick up some heavy things and get after it while I'm overseas, I'm still going to get in my share of relaxing and enjoying holiday treats. As they say: it's not that important how you eat and exercise between Christmas and New Year's, but it IS important how you eat and exercise between New Year's and Christmas!
Cheers Everyone. In the words of N Sync: Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays! (Yes, I just did that)