Author: Geoff W

Reading my way through life.
Workout Wednesday

Workout Wednesday – March 2014

Geoff W

2014 02-19 Can't Make it to the GymNot much has changed this month. I’ve unfortunately not been to CrossFit but am looking forward to getting back into it, just need this weather to cooperate so I can get my butt out of bed in the mornings! No seriously look at the alarms I’ve had to set recently, and that’s not even all of them OR a gym day! That’s to get up and go to work. Thankfully the days have already started to get longer and hopefully that’ll make it easier to sort out my life.

2014 02-24 My New Favorite DressingIn addition to my struggling to get out of bed in the mornings, my eating healthier has been sort of hit or miss which is a bummer. However, the week before last I found this AWESOME dressing and it made my salads once again wonderful. I’ve also determined that it’s okay not to eat a salad every day of every week. They were starting to get so dull and repetitive that it’s perfectly okay to take a week off periodically and have sandwiches or wraps! Just not every week.

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ARC, Books

Book 265: It’s All Geek to Me – J. L. Merrow

Geoff W

Merrow, J. L. - It's All Geek To MeWhat a quick fun read! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and if Merrow were to expand this story into a longer novel, or even a series of short stories, I would definitely check it out. I received a copy of It’s All Geek to Me from the publisher, Riptide Publishing and received nothing in return for my honest opinion.

From the adorkable premise of the comic book store to the “aww” worthy ending, I couldn’t help but smile through this quick novella. I of course loved the two main characters, the gorgeously described Welshman Rhys and the adorably emotionally fragile protagonist Jez. Merrow did a great job building the tension between the Rhys and Jez and adding in a (not completely) unexpected turn. I wasn’t quite sure what the hidden secret was but I was so worried it was going to be something completely different and the actual reason was so adorable and their reactions were so adorable that I couldn’t help but smile.

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Personal Project, Willpower

The Willpower Instinct Project – Week 1

Geoff W

McGonigal, Kelly - The Willpower InstinctSo this first week was super simple. On top of other things that were going on this week I wasn’t sure if it was the best week to start, but better now than never. I had two experiments for the week: notice every decision you make related to your willpower challenge and five-minute brain-training medication.

The first wasn’t as difficult as the second. I’m actually pretty aware of when I start to delay and procrastinate. I did, however, notice that it starts even earlier than I thought. I start making excuses not to go to CrossFit almost 24 hours in advance. I slowly start making minor excuses and then follow through. I’m interested to see what will happen in chapter two. As for the meditation I found it nice. Every day got easier and easier and I’m wondering if I should extend it to more than five minutes. The basic premise is to concentrate on your breathing and when you find yourself drifting away (which I often did, depending on when I meditated) you bring yourself back. I definitely noticed a difference each day and the five minutes which felt like forever at first got shorter and shorter each time.

Next up, Chapter Two: Your Body Was Born to Resist Cheesecake. I’m not so sure about this one based on the title, but we’ll see what’s next.

Check out last week’s Introduction post below:

Random

Reading Technology

Geoff W

So one of the most exciting things about being a reader in the 21st century are all of the changes! From E-books (electronic) to e-books (enhanced as Michael from Books on the Night Stand said in their most recent podcast) to interactive books on tablets and books with fold out maps and postcards and interactive graphic novels what more could we possible want? If you haven’t seen it yet the Boston based start up Spritz created the new “holy-shit” technology that could impact how everyone reads in the near future. I’m not going to go into the pros and cons of this, I just thought it was super cool and wanted to share it. (Thanks Matt!)

Image via the HuffPost and Elite Daily articles below.

Imagine being able to read a book at 600 words per minute with NO training. Look at the image to the right if you haven’t already, can you read it? As you can see that’s 500 words pre minute! My roommate, Matt, posted this on Facebook today and I was fascinated. I read super fast on my own and this completely captivated me.

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Books, Professional Development

Book 264: Overcoming Passive-Aggression – Tim Murphy and Loriann Hoff Oberlin

Geoff W

Talk about a rough read. The entire time I was reading this, I kept thinking back to that phrase from the 2001 movie A Knight’s Tale: “You have been weighed, you have been measured, and you have been found wanting.” Please don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t solely from this book or the last few that I’ve read that this thought process stems from, trust me. It’s something I’ve been struggling with for the past year and a half and as much as I’ve improved, I knew I was still struggling with myriad issues.

I mentioned when I wrote about Crucial Conversations that I’d had one recently and that the feedback I got hurt like hell but was something that I needed to hear. And honestly I can’t thank that person enough for having the candor to tell me what they did and spurring me to take a long look at myself. Again, don’t get me completely wrong I’ve not been hiding that I’m a horrible person, but I’ve definitely struggled for some time and after reading this I’m wondering how long I’ve been struggling and not knowing or, more than likely, not admitting it.

Continue reading “Book 264: Overcoming Passive-Aggression – Tim Murphy and Loriann Hoff Oberlin” →