Pull Up Bar

Fridays are supposed to be fun, right? Well I think this fits the bill...

Wish me luck on actually getting fit/strong enough to do my pull up. Right now I am quite overweight, but "fit" thanks to cycling. In case you're worrying that I'm feeling down on myself, don't, because I'm not.

What follows is a quitting smoking story. If that stuff doesn't appeal to you, please bail now.

I have wrestled with smoking for much of my adult life. When I've smoked, it was typically a pack a day or more. Here's my whacko smoking chronology:

Age 16-30: smoker

Age 30-40 or so: quit and happy about it

Age 40-46: On and off smoking, often quitting for months at a time but always falling back into it.

My Dad died (of lung cancer) when I was about 40. I fell off the wagon at that time; my brothers smoke and, well, shit happens, I guess. I hate smoking, but addiction is a very strange thing, as anyone who's ever been addicted to anything can tell you.

Addiction flies in the face of reason, logic, morality, intelligence, common sense, blah blah blah. The thing is, if you've never experienced addiction personally, addicted people seem more like selfish people rationalizing their own selfishness. To a certain extent, maybe that's true; depends on the person, I would think. Still, I think it is safe to say that all addicted people would happily trade their fucked-up (and often selfish) addiction for freedom from their stupid substance ANY DAY.

In case you hadn't noticed, addiction fascinates me. Drugs, booze, smokes, whatever. Addiction touches all of our lives, like it or not. If you have never experienced addiction, you should be thanking your lucky stars HARD. For myself, I am thanking my lucky stars that I have escaped my addiction to nicotine once more, for 5.5 months so far. When you're addicted to something, your fight is never ever ever over. It gets easier over time, but won't ever go completely away, and that's alright, because every day out from under an addiction is cause for celebration. 

So, I'm overweight and can't yet do a pull up, but I haven't smoked in a long while and enjoy riding my bike every weekday. I also have a family who loves me and a pretty decent job. I am in no way down on myself, nor should you be, I bet. Look hard at what you have; if you're reading this, I'm guessing it comes to a great deal when you think about it.

Holy crap! This post started with "Friday's are supposed to be fun"! What the hell happened there? Damned if I know, but thanks for reading, for sure.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

A Lawnmower, Man...

Hello Hello! I am pleased to say that great things are underway in my small life; things like learning to cut mosaic tiles with a wet saw (which is freakin' awesome, btw) and, um, well that's it.

I continue to ride my bike a lot, which of course is FANTASTIC. My province (Ontario) also recently put into effect a 1m (3ft) passing law, which is, while good spirited, MEANINGLESS. The guidelines include the most excellent and vague-ifying phrase "where possible"! I'm over the moon that the general public now have new laws to vaguely suggest what the police might but probably will not enforce regarding cyclists on our roadways. Whew! It's about time!

Enough with my negativity and sarcasm though, because there are (as always, if you look) myriad reasons to be joyful, like, people who just make ya think:

I, of course, have already come to a conclusion about what was happening there. Since Mrs. Rantwick concurs, I am pretty well certain all has been explained. For us. Your theory may be way better (more entertaining), if less intelligent. Unless of course you've come to the same conclusion as we have, in which case we're just engaged in a self-congratulatory-circle-jerk, aren't we? How sad! Perhaps we should just ride our bikes and forget this post ever happened. Yes, I think, as always in cases of cycling ruminations, repression is the best course of action. Adieu, dear reader, adieu! 

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K