Thursday, January 29, 2009
There is also the money stress. After only working on one set this last month and making the least amount possible per day, I had to draw my entire Feb rent/bills from my savings. This means that I only have $1300 left in there, and since Feb is the shortest month of the year I have to come up with something fast in order to stay afloat. I need a day job ASAP, but I don't even know where to start looking and the stress is hurting.
Use the stress Dunn. Go to the gym and work it out!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Work Out Blog #1-ish
Ups:
The food is actually very good. Better tasting then the usual garbage that I put in my face.
I am actually starting to get a rhythm at the gym. I did an hour of cardio today and some weights, and I am still thinking that if I get out of work early enough tonight I might make a stop over to do some more because I am still jazzed.
My parents bought me a scale, which is probably going to be bad since I am neurotic and will weigh myself constantly... just for S&G (shits and giggles for those of you trying to keep up.)
Downs:
I didn't actually make it out to the gym everyday for the past week and half like I wanted, but I am trying not to beat myself up for that since a few of those days I was working to make money and such.
Though tasty, the food isn't enough it seems since I am working out so much. I find myself very very hungry mid day and trying to find something relatively healthy to nosh on.
So that's pretty much it for now. Lastly I am going to end this post with my weight gain/loss for the week.
Gym Time Total: ~12Hrs
Cardio: 8Hrs
Weights: 4Hrs
Starting Weight(12/28): 339
Current Weight: 328
Total Loss: -11lbs
Friday, January 2, 2009
Day 1!
I have given myself a goal. To work out as much as possible and try to live a healthier life this year. In keeping with that I have been going to the gym everyday for the past week. (With the small exception of yesterday since I was a little too partied out to make my way there.) It has been great so far. The key is not to overdo it. That's kind of like the bingeing of the exercise world I guess. Go too hard and you feel like crap, eat too much you feel like crap. So I have been keeping it to 45 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of various weights and it seems to be working.
I have also started a new food regime today. All pre-prepared and nutritionally balanced. The breakfast was actually pretty tasty. A nice little bran muffin and protien hot cocoa. I will keep you all updated on how that goes as well.
This new program also wants me to keep a journal of thoughts and what I have eaten and weight loss... so I will probably just start using this as the journal, so you can read the progress too.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Hmm...
Your result for The Love Styles Test...
75% Eros, 25% Ludus, 71% Storge, 14% Pragma, 39% Mania, 71% Agape
At various times, everyone takes on different aspects of each of the love styles. No one is just one style or another. However, we each have styles that we may tend towards more than the others.
Also, no one style is necessarily better or worse than any other. It's more important to find what works for each of us as individuals, and figure out how to enjoy our love in a healthy and positive way.
The descriptions below were taken from Close Relationships Research by Susan S. Hendrick and Wikipedia's entry on Love Styles. I highly recommend checking out these resources if you find this subject interesting.
Eros 75%
The Eros lover is characterized by passion, though a passion broader than just a physical one. The Eros lover tends to be drawn toward a preferred physical type, and thus there may be an immediate recognition or "aha" when meeting a potential love partner. This lover is intense and wants to be involved with a partner on all levels, becoming physically affectionate (and intimate), talking for hours, and learning all about the partner. The Eros lover is fully and openly "present," is self-confident and trusting, and balances intensity with an appropriate sense of boundaries.
Erotic lovers view marriage as an extended honeymoon, and sex as the ultimate aesthetic experience. They tend to address their lovers with pet names, such as "sweetheart" or "honey." An erotic lover can be perceived as a hopeless romantic. Those of other love styles may see erotic lovers as unrealistic, or trapped in a fantasy.
The advantage of erotic love is the sentimentality of it. It is very relaxing to the person doing it. The disadvantage is the inevitableness of the decay in attraction, and the danger of living in a fantasy world. In its extreme, eros can resemble naivete.
Ludus 25%
The Ludus lover, in contrast, is not interested in intensity, but rather experiences love as a game to be played for mutual enjoyment but not necessarily with any serious outcome in mind. Ludic lovers do not have a preferred physical type. Although ludic lovers may be in a partnered relationship with someone, ludic love is best played with several partners at a time, so that different people may be enjoyed for different qualities, in different activities, with no one person or relationship taking precedence over another. A ludic lover may hurt a partner inadvertently, but the goal is to enjoy relationships with a variety of people, with everyone having fun and no one getting hurt.
Ludic lovers are players. More interested in quantity than quality of relationships, ludic lovers want to have as much fun as possible. Ludic lovers choose their partners by playing the field, and quickly recover from break-ups.
Ludic lovers generally view marriage as a trap, and are the most likely of the love styles to commit infidelity. They might view children as a sign of fertility, or, if male, a confirmation of their masculinity. They regard Sex as a conquest or a sport, and they engage in relationships because they see them as a challenge.
The advantage of ludic love is excellent sexual technique. The disadvantage is the likelihood of infidelity. In its extreme form, ludic love becomes promiscuity.
Storge 71%
The Storge lover is someone who builds a love relationship on a strong base of friendship. The goal is: A companionable, secure, trusting relationship with a partner who is similar in terms of attitudes and values. This similarity is much more important to Storge than physical appearance or sexual satisfaction because this orientation to love is more likely to seek long-term commitment rather than short-term excitement. (S. Hendrick & Hendrick, 1992, p. 65)
Storgic lovers are friends first. Storgic love develops gradually out of friendship, and the friendship can endure beyond the breakup of the relationship. Storgic lovers choose their mates based on homogamy, and sometimes cannot pinpoint the moment that friendship turned to love. Storgic lovers want their significant others to also be their best friends.
Storgic lovers place much importance on commitment, and find their motivation to avoid committing infidelity is to preserve the trust between the partners. Children and marriage are seen as legitimate forms of their bond. Sex is of lesser importance than in some of the other love styles.
The advantage of storgic love is the level of intimacy between the partners. The disadvantage is boredom and lack of passion.
Pragma 14%
The Pragma lover is all that the name implies, including practical and pragmatic. A Pragma lover may or may not have a preferred physical type, but he or she will surely have a virtual (or actual) shopping list of qualities sought in a partner. This type of lover may profit from working with a matchmaker or a computer dating service, in which inappropriate relationship candidates will be screened out. "The pragmatic lover isn't looking for great excitement and drama, but, rather, for a suitable partner with whom a satisfying, rewarding life can be built" (S. Hendrick & Hendrick, 1992, p. 66).
Pragmatic lovers are practical. Pragmatic lovers think rationally and realistically about their expectations in a partner, and select them via comparison shopping or shopping-list love. Pragmatic lovers want to find value in their partners, and ultimately want to work with their partner to reach a common goal.
Pragmatic lovers will avoid infidelity to avoid adverse consequences, and carefully weigh the costs and rewards of a relationship. Pragmatic lovers view sex as a reward or a means of procreation, and view marriage and children as potential liabilities and assets.
The advantage of pragmatic love is practicality and realism. The disadvantage is undemonstrativeness and lack of emotion. In its extreme form, pragma can become prostitution.
Mania 39%
The Mania lover is also aptly characterized by the love style name, in that emotional highs and lows, as well as dependence, possessiveness, jealousy, and insecurity are typically present. A manic lover yearns for a love relationship but finds it elusive, because she or he seems compelled to push for commitment from a partner, does not really trust the commitment even if it is forthcoming, and is always afraid that the partner will find someone else. Another aspect of Mania is physical symptoms, such as difficulty eating or sleeping. Overall, the Mania lover always seems to be looking for the cloud around the silver lining.
Manic lovers often have low self-esteem, and place much importance on their relationship. Manic lovers speak of their partners in possessives and superlatives, and feel they "need" their partners. Love is a means of rescue, or a reinforcement of value. Manic lovers often discover their partners by haphazard means.
Manic lovers will avoid committing infidelity if they fear discovery. They view marriage as ownership, and children as either competition or a substitute for their lover. Sex is a reassurance of love. Manic lovers are often anxious or insecure, and can be extremely jealous. Manic lovers respond well to therapy, and often grow out of this style.
The advantage of manic love is intensity. The disadvantage is jealousy, obsessiveness, and insatiability. In its extreme, mania becomes addiction or codependency.
Agape 71%
The Agape lover is the rarest type of lover. Agape is characterized by altruism, such that the partner's welfare is more important than one's own welfare, and what one can give in a relationship is more important than what one gets. Indeed, Agape has much in common with compassionate love. The idealism of Agape means that there is no one preferred physical type in a partner, and indeed, sensuality and sexuality are likely to be much less important than more spiritual qualities. Although pure Agape is unlikely to exist on the physical plane of this world, agapic qualities are extremely important as relationships encounter inevitable ups and downs.
Agapic love is self-sacrificing, all-encompassing love. Agapic lovers are often spiritual or religious people. Agapic lovers view their partners as blessings, and wish to take care of them.
Agapic lovers will remain faithful to their partners to avoid causing them pain, and will often wait patiently for their partners after a break-up. Marriage and children are sacred trusts, and sex is a gift between two people. Agapic love believes itself to be unconditional, though lovers taking an agapic stance to relationships risk suffering from inattention to their own needs.
The advantage of agapic love is its generosity. A disadvantage is that it can induce feelings of guilt or incompetence in a partner. In its deviant form, agape becomes martyrdom.