Wednesday Weigh-In 20130227

I'm trying to focus now on getting to bed earlier. It will prevent me from snacking right before bedtime and even in the afternoon. I get the urge to eat a sugary snack because I'm tired and I need the stimulation.

Our Spring Equinox is only three weeks away!

Waist = 37.0"
Height = 5' 9"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20130220

I bought myself a Google Nexus 7 tablet a few weeks ago, so I've been playing around with it. Even though I have the Blogger App for it (and Blogger is a Google product) I couldn't possibly create this kind of post with it.

Hope all is well in your part of the world!

Waist = 37.0"
Height = 5' 9"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20130213

The big snowstorm that was called Nemo by some and Charlotte by others left us with over two feet of snow. I shoveled only enough so that we could get the cars out of the driveway, and that took six and a half hours in two shifts.

Waist = 37.0"
Height = 5' 9"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Dream: Kow Tow of the Pastor in the Sand

I'm at a public beach on a hot sunny day.  I'm watching the assistant Pastor.  [He looks a lot older than he is in real life.]  A beautiful young woman is walking toward him.  He bows.  "Wow, he must really like her," I think to myself.  But then I see him turn and then get on his hands and knees.

He starts to Kow Tow toward the East for a mid-day offering of prayer.  The woman says, "You take after my own heart," meaning that she also loves and worships G-d.  But the Pastor ignores her.

He is red in the face and has some sand stuck to it.  There is some sand in his mouth, too.  He touches his tongue to the sand with great reluctance.

[This followed from an earlier religious dream called "You Need a Doubter" that I've mostly forgotten.  But what follows is what I remember of it....]
I'm in the church office with the Pastor and Assistant Pastor.  It's like a job interview.  It becomes clear to them (and me) pretty quickly that my knowledge of the Bible and Christianity in general is too limited to make me a good person to hire.  Besides, I'm not much of a believer.  But then I reason to them that they need someone who doubts the religion in order to make them strive harder for more convincing sermons.

Dream: Stainless Steel Tube at Construction Site

I'm at a construction site.  I see a piece of stainless steel sheet metal formed into a large tube, large enough to enclose a human.  It's suspended off the ground.  I remark that it would be great to steal.  My brother is there.  He smiles in agreement.  He points out that we'd just have to push out the plexiglass tube that it's resting on to get at it.

Dream: Little Ancient Holy Reverence in White

I'm sitting in the same room with KR, the former church organist.  She is practicing an organ piece.  As I observe, she not only rehearses the notes, but also the stops and switches on the console.  She gets up, but the music keeps playing!  She must've set it to repeat what she played before.  I didn't know she did that!

I'm sitting is a small pew.  It's a two-seater.  I have my clothes (jacket) on the right part of the bench.  Someone is sitting next to me in a chair on my left.  She is my girlfriend, perhaps.

I'm sort of spacing out.  But then I notice a priest with dark hair approach the double glass doorway that's suddenly right in front of me.  But then I notice that he's right behind a very old, short, holy man.  They're both dressed in white, and the old man's face is very pale, and they are close together as if the taller man is carrying the old man from behind.  I close my eyes and bow my head to show respect to the holy Elder.  Then after they enter  and walk past, I realize I have my baseball cap on with the hood of my hoodie over it.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20130206

I took advantage of the complete lack of snow cover and walked yesterday. It was nearly too cold, but I managed. I meant to go today, too, because it was a few degrees warmer. But a meeting that was supposed to end at noon ran late, and I got sucked into something that was supposed to be just a simple answer. We're supposed to get a big snowstorm on Friday. I hope I still remember how to use a snow shovel!

Waist = 37.0"
Height = 5' 9"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Expectations

I wasn't really aware of expectations until I heard a sermon from our Pastor recently.  He started to talk about his expectations of the worship experience.  He said that he expected love, forgiveness, inspiration and healing from G-d¹.  All of this was in stark contrast to my expectations -- I had virtually none.

Well, I had the most basic expectations.  I would participate in a worship ritual that would involve standing, sitting, and kneeling; speaking, singing and listening; learning, day dreaming, and socializing.  I expected nothing from G-d -- I never do.  He/She/It is this pervasive presence that simply exists out there, like air, sunlight and gravity.  I expect nothing ever from It, except that It Will Always Be There.

Expecting nothing from G-d isn't really a bad thing, actually.  I used expect scrutiny, criticism and punishment.  I spent several long years healing myself of those expectations.

I thought about Pastor's and my expectations often throughout the service and afterward.  I realized that the Pastor's expectations focused solely on what he expected to receive from the situation, whereas mine were mostly centered on what I was supposed to offer.

I need to psyche myself up for worship.  I have to "shake my sillies out" so that I can pretend to act reserved and normal, not contentious and weird.  For example, I expect that when the Pastor talks about some supernatural experience that a prophet supposedly experienced, I will have to suppress the urge to stand up and say, "Don't you think that Ezekiel had eaten something hallucinogenic to see that?"

Expecting to get something from every situation -- that's a Me-generation thing, isn't it?  It's like asking or thinking "What's in it for me?" all the time, don't you think?  Does everyone think this way?

Try this: go into the next situation expecting to give something.  It could be a trip to the store, a coffee date with a friend, a meeting at work.

At the store, don't think "I'm going to get everything I need on sale."  Think instead, "I'm going to help someone reach for a product on a high shelf."

At the coffee date, don't think, "I expect sympathy from my friend when I tell her about what my fool of a husband said to me last week."  Think instead, "I expect to say or do something that will deepen our friendship."

At the meeting, don't think, "I'm going to show off so that I can finally get a raise."  Think instead, "I will mention how hard my coworker worked to get his project to me on time and in perfect form."

Try just for today, just for the next hour even, to expect to make the world and the people in it better.

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¹Here I avoid referring to the deity by name in respect of the Jewish custom, even though I am Christian (or at least I started out that way).