I did a chin-up last week. I was 18 the last time I did that. It’s been way too long.

A word to the wise, if you do something this week that you haven’t done since you were 18, do not blurt out “Guess what I did yesterday that I haven’t done since I was 18.”

I got out this last Sunday for a short ten mile bike ride. It was fine except it started snowing a few blocks from home. I haven’t gotten around to purchasing any long pants for biking in so by the end of the ride the snow had settled onto my legs making something approximating snow pants but not nearly as warm. I think the thing I liked the least about biking in January wasn’t the cold, it was the road grime that covered me and the bike.

Every once in a while I notice news blurbs where a celebrity of one sort or another has placed personal items for sale on Ebay. This weekend I was thinking, hey I’m a blogger — practically a bush leaugue celebrity — maybe I should sell some of my possessions on Ebay.

So now you can
buy my old pants on Ebay.

I’m still working on my “Top Ten Reasons to Buy My Pants” list.

If you tell my wife you “bid on my pants” please be sure and ennunciate the “d” in “bid”. She seemed startled when I said someone bid on my pants — turns out she thought someone “bit” on my pants.

In all seriousness, while I’ve bought many things on Ebay, I’ve never sold anything so I’m curious to see how this goes. In my effort to declutter a bit, I’m hoping to sell or donate lots of stuff this year.

Remember if you aren’t just buying my pants, you are winning them!

Happy New Year!

It’s time for those pesky New Years resolutions. Last year I resolved to be more thankful, drink more tea and spell check more often. Well I gave it a good try and for some definitions of the word success I was successful.

So what are my resolutions this year?

• De-clutter & simplify.
• Spend more money on things that matter & less on things that don’t.
• Do something kind & don’t tell anyone about it.

I’ll let you know how it works out for me.

You might think the response to the headline would be something like, “Yes Tim, we’ve all known you have been overweight for some time, we just didn’t think it was polite to bring it to your attention.” Instead for me, being overweight is a cause celebre because I’m no longer obese.

According to the BMI calculator on the CDC‘s web site I’ve just crossed the threshold from obese to overweight today. You can kvetch about how much a person should weigh, the definition of obesity and whether the BMI is a good measure of fitness, but the simple truth for me is that I am much healthier now by any measurement system.

I would like to especially thank everyone who helped me get to where I am right now, most of you know who you are. Special thanks to the phenomenal cooks at my office who make great soups and salads for me and the co-workers who walk with me at lunch.

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Since Jan asked so nicely …

Getting to Know Me

Things I plan to do before I die:

1. Hike a really long trail.
2. Found a real company with employees and everything.
3. Visit most or all the continents.
4. Take one really great landscape, still life or abstract photo.
5. Write a book.
6. Get another race car and finish a race well.
7. See my children doing well in life.

Things I can do:

1. Learn new things.
2. Fix & break stuff.
3. Swing Dance.
4. Speak in public.
5. Blog.
6. Cook.

Things I cannot do:

1. Sing on key or harmonize.
2. Care about Michael Jackson and a variety of other celebrities.
3. Clap in time to music without peeking at other people to make sure I am staying on the beat.
4. Knit.
5. Play a musical instrument.

Things that attract me to my wife:

1. She laughs at my jokes and wry side comments.
2. She is wicked smart.
3. She is a dedicated and caring mom.
4. She really values fun.
5. Her obvious physical charms.
6. Location, location, location.

Celebrity crushes:

1. Kirsten Dunst (I still don’t understand what she see in Spiderman.)
2. Natalie Portman, but only in Garden State
3. Julia Roberts
4. Sarah McLachlan
5. Sandra Bullock, Susan Sarandon, Bonnie Raitt, Patricia Clarkson, Elisabeth Moss, Katie Holmes (but only in “Pieces of April”)

I take a walk at work more days than not. According to the Gmap Pedometer (which is a very cool tool, btw) my usual route is about 2 miles.

I’m always amazed at how much better I feel after a good walk, even when the trees crash at my feet or the geese are hiss at me.

If I’m in a bad mood, a walk almost always helps.

I lived in Richland Center, Wisconsin from the middle of kindergarten through second grade. It was a great place for a kid. There were places to run in the woods on the hill behind the town. Almost all my friends were within walking distance. The parks were all on Church Street and the churches were on Park Street. My grandparents had a big Victorian house where my parents and I lived with them. The best part of that house was the porch on the front with a swing on it. I spent a lot of time in that swing especially when storms would blow in. During storms my grandmother was quite sure I would be struck by lightning and would frequently implore me to come in. After enough warnings someone would drag me in. I loved being so close to the rain that the wind felt wet. Now that I think about it, it’s nearly the same sensation I get when sailing.

This weekend I realized that the same swing is hanging from the laundry line thing in Grandpa’s back yard. It’s not nearly as sturdy as I remember it but it still does the job. It felt really good to swing with both my grandpa and my kids this weekend.

I wished it was on the old porch, I wished it was raining & I wish my grandmother was there to shoo me inside.

Occasionally I do odd things like making bread, throwing pottery, dripping paint, taking photos, writing or hiking alone in the woods. I’ve been asked on more than one occasion, “Why do you do it?” The best answer I’ve seen so far is in this Craft Manifesto.

I went to a dance with Jeannie last Saturday night. Other than the dances sponsored by the health club, where I took my dance lessons five years ago, this is the first dance I’ve attended since high school.

It was swing dance held in an airplane hangar containing vintage aircraft. It was Forties themed and lots of people showed up in vintage clothing and army or navy uniforms. It was fun just to dance with a live fourteen piece orchestra. I also enjoyed watching the couples who were really good at dancing. I couldn’t believe how smooth people were when performing really complicated moves.

People always like to suggest that dancing is a lot like human relationships. I supposed it is. I got my foot stepped on, I forgot more moves than I remembered, we got out of rhythm, at least once I spun my partner a little too hard in the wrong direction, my partner tried to lead, I led poorly on occasion and I got too sweaty at least once. When it was good, for a microsecond it felt like two people moving as one. Yup, sounds vaguely like marriage to me. I wish I was good at it. I know … practice, practice, practice.