eric135

24 Hour Fitness...

We finally pulled the trigger on our New Year's resolution to improve our health this year. I dread using the phrase "New Years Resolution" because I think that just jinxes things from the get go. But we finally signed up for memberships at the nearby 24 Hour Fitness. Our health has steadily declined over recent years, and much of it is due to inactivity. Add in a diet including too many trips to fast food and we've got problems. 

I used to go to LA Fitness (about 7 years ago) and was going 7 days a week until I hurt my knee using a machine incorrectly, and we thought about re-joining, but we needed someplace that had more open hours, since I work nights and tend to be active in the middle of the night. We're going to the one at Bell and 32nd Street.

24Hour Fitness looks like it will fit our needs. Our club is just 2 miles away and they are open around the clock except Friday and Saturday nights.

I also like that they have lots of elliptical machines as well as stationary bikes and treadmills, good for variety.

I've just been my second time in two days, and it feels good to be active again. 

I even managed to find the same elliptical machine at 24 hour Fitness that I was using at LA Fitness, the Precor 556i:

This version has a few tweaks that it didn't have before, but the button layout and functions are identical, which made it easier to get back into the swing of things.

 

 

San Diego: Sea World and the San Diego Zoo

 SeaWorld: We spent a couple of days in San Diego, celebrating my room mate's birthday. He'd never been to a dolphin show, and the last time I went was about 35 years ago. We never travel anywhere, and we just plain needed a break. It was warm, even by Phoenix standards. Our first day, it was 76 degrees, which was pretty lucky for us since Shamu soaked us to the skin shortly after this picture. 

 Our second day we went to the San Diego Zoo. I think I went there when I was a kid but I'm not exactly sure I'm remembering that correctly. It could have been something I remember vicariously via the magic of public television. I say this because I seemed to remember some of the zoo, like the bear enclosures, but I don't remember ever going to San Diego when I was a kid.

• We stayed at the Hyatt - Mission Bay. A beautiful hotel room, with a free upgrade so we got a nice fifth-floor view of the bay. Internet access was a tad pricey, $27 for 48 hours (they charge per day per device, which I thought was excessive). It was too cold to swim, and we're not into the spa thing. The only detail I have to complain about is that there aren't many close-by options for food. They do have a restaurant, the Red Marlin, but it was way too expensive for our taste (it would have been about $100 a meal and the reviews were so-so). They also have room service, and the rate was ok, about average, but the food was terrible. My medium-rare hamburger tasted like charcoal, and my room mate's chicken breast sandwich was just as inedible. 
• The beds were very soft. We haven't had much luck with beds our last several trips. The Luxor in Las Vegas had beds that felt like x-ray tables, and our bed the last beach trip was actually two mattress spring boxes stacked on top of one another. 
• Our first night, we ordered pizza delivery from Pizza Hut and watched the last Harry Potter movie on my room mate's new iPad. We could also have used the UrbanSpoon app on our iPhones, which showed many more delivery options. I was pretty impressed by the app even though we decided not to use it our second night, and ordered the previosly mentioned and ill-conceived room service.
• Our best meal was lunch the second day, when we ate at Albert's Restaurant in the San Diego Zoo. We ate out on the deck, surrounded by lush green plants and trees (we don't get much of that in Phoenix). What exotic foods did we sample? Meat loaf, garlic mashed potatoes, salad and apple pie a la mode for desert. But it was excellent.
• We decided not to lug our laptops, and instead used the iPad and my new Kindle Fire. They worked beautifully and I was able to do everything I usually do on my Fire that I usually need a laptop for: banking, surfing, Evernote, email, Netflix etc. The only thing we couldn't do was print our boarding passes but we couldn't have done that with our laptops either. 
• Without the laptops, we were remarkably and enjoyably light-weight with our flight carry-on's. I only carried my usual man-purse (large enough to carry both of my Kindles and all of my man-stuff), and my room mate only had his iPad. What a luxury!
• For air travel, I would highly recommend the FlightView app for the iPhone. I usually use text messaging but the app is better.
• The next time, we'll rent a car. We spent way too much for taxi service to/from airports and to/from the zoo. We walked to SeaWorld (a pleasant 30-minute walk around the marina) but were too tired (and wet) to walk back and just the 2-mile trip cost us $10.00. Plus having a car would have made the whole meal thing much easier.
• Getting hosed by Shamu was not as traumatic as I had thought it would be, given how nelly I can be at times. Those Orca tail fins can displace an awful lot of water. A group of Asian girls sat up front, wearing jackets with fur trim, and they looked like they fell into the pool. Luckily, our phones didn't get wet.

We had great fun, but of course, after just a couple of days, we were anxious to get back home. 

White Citrus Skin Care Products

An excellent gift I received this Christmas was a wide assortment of skin care products from Bath and Bodyworks. As I've gotten older, I guess my skin just isn't as good at taking care of itself anymore. I remember the good ol' days when all a guy needed was a bar of Irish Spring soap and a bottle of Prell shampoo. 

Now, not so much. My skin is much more dry than before, and my days of going to the beach for a week without sunblock are now behind me. 

The problem is, I hate most lotions. I hate the way most of them make me feel "sticky" and make my pants/scrubs stick to my legs. 

I love this stuff:

True Blue Spa Lotion w/ Parafin: I've been using this on a weird spot on my hand where I have skin that has peeled off over the years due to the fact that I keep pulling calluses off. It's a weird anxiety thing that I've had since college, and during times when my mind is idle (like watching TV or just sitting with nothing to do), I'll pick at my hand. The key to handling this is to keep my skin soft and pliable, where no hard leather-like calluses can form. I've never found a lotion as effective as this one. I've only been using it for a week and my hands look like I've been on vacation for a month.

   White Citrus Intense Moisture Body Butter. Intense moisturizing thick cream that absorbs very quickly. 

White Citrus Body Scrub and Body Wash: Much better for my skin than my usual, Irish Spring. Yes, I've had to pull out that not-so-manly puff ball, oh well. A little bit goes a long way, and it smells very nice (but not overpowering). 

White Citrus Lotion: Absorbs rapidly but moisturizes well. I like the fragrance, but it isn't overwhelming. The most important thing is that I use it regularly. With previous lotions, it made me feel so slick and greasy and made my clothes stick to my skin, which discouraged me from using them at all. 

Over the past week, my skin has felt and looked much better. The only downside is that it has added several minutes to my daily routine, but it's totally worth it. The fragrance isn't so strong that it violates our hospital's policy against strong perfumes. 

Plus, really, that weird OCD spot on my hand is almost totally healed.