new goal

I gave a pint of A+ blood on Wednesday afternoon at the library during a thunderstorm. It was an overall good experience-- one exception-- lady let walk-ins go before appointments. Not cool. Lesson learned-- go in the middle to late part of the period. However, I met some cool people and learned that the elevation of the place you visited in India affects whether or not you can give blood. The #1 cool person was the little lady volunteer in charge of snacks after you give. She was 78 years old and chatty. We were talking about random stuff then got onto the topic of working out. This little lady meets with a personal trainer three times a week and can do 30 "man push-ups" (direct quote). She can also bench more than I can. But, I do more cardio than she. She was envious that my gym has a pool. She said she took being in good shape seriously because some of her grandchildren and great grandchildren were obese, and she wanted to be a good role model for them. I told her that my family had more cautionary tales than role models. Seriously, when you meet old people like this, it gives one hope about getting older. She was talking about how her house is messier since retirement because she's so busy. Coolness.

Before giving blood, I rowed for the first time in years on Wednesday. I did 5x1k workout with .25 mile running recoveries. It was slow but reasonable. When I rowed in college I tried my 500 splits under 2:00 no matter what-- 12k pieces or 90 minute sessions. I needed under 1:50 to keep my position on a boat for more competitive pieces. This time I tried to keep my measly 1ks under 2:10, which I did. It felt really good. I'm going to incorporate more rowing into my workout. I was sweating within 4 minutes, and it's not just about going full-out. It's about pacing and stroke rating and form. There was a guy on the erg beside me that had clearly never rowed on the water. I managed to keep all my unsolicited advice to myself. The whole time I watched him I was thinking, "He's going to kill his back."

Job related: I applied to the chaplaincy program in the Army earlier this week. It's a pretty long process, and I'd have to go back to school to convert my Master's into an MDiv, which is kind of a nice prospect. I'd have to the candidacy program, which means I'd go into the reserves for 7 years. I was whining to my sister that I'd be over forty when I was finished with the entire process. She pointed out that I'd be over forty in 8 years no matter what I do, so that shouldn't really be a factor not to do something. My other concern is what about IF I meet a guy and want to get married and have kids-- being prego in a combat zone doesn't seem overly ideal. My sister pointed out again that my cousin's wife got pregnant while stationed in Japan (noncombat zone), and she was released from duty. This is to say, the military works with you. But, it seems like a really interesting, important job. Imagine getting to interact with people in such a critical time of life. These men and women are going to be asking crucial questions about meaning and life, etc. And, although there's pluralistic protocol, you still get to pray and care for these people.

I have my first tutoring gig in a while with a 12 year-old boy who sounds like he's a trip. I'm excited. I also figured out some places I want to start volunteering.

So, we shall see. My appeal worked somewhat: I'm going to have a hearing. I'm on my way!

Must go work on my upper body strength!